GRENADA
Opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) General Secretary Peter David on Wednesday signed documents to contest the July 8th general elections in Grenada, but his party has also put in place a contingency plan in the event of further legal maneuverings by the government to stop him from contesting the polls.
The New National Party (NNP) government has gone to court to challenge David's eligibility to sit in parliament, claiming he is a Canadian citizen. The court has dismissed the challenges five times.
Government's legal advisor Hugh Wildman had indicated that an attempt would have been made to stop David filing his nomination papers. David, accompanied by a team of lawyers and dozens of supporters, walked through the streets of St George's on Wednesday to the electoral constituency office, and successfully filed his nomination papers.
During his interview with the press, David urged supporters to leave the area to avoid confrontation with supporters of NNP candidate Brenda Hood, who was on her way to filing her own nomination papers. The NNP candidate and her supporters, with police escort, arrived with percussionists on two open-back trucks.
VENEZUELA
CARACAS, Venezuela (AFP): President Hugo Chavez threatened to shut off oil exports to European countries that enforce tough new EU rules on illegal immigrants. "Our petroleum should not go to these European countries" that apply the new laws, Chavez said at a press conference here.
Just as European nations could return undocumented immigrants to their country of origin, Latin American countries could also decide "the return of European investments," Chavez said. "At least in Venezuela," he said. "We don't need them here."
Chavez said that his government would "review the investments that they (the Europeans) have here to see if we can also apply a 'return directive'."
The European Union adopted tough new rules Wednesday on illegal immigrants, allowing detention for up to 18 months prior to expulsion, and angering human rights groups.
The measures, which could come into force in 2010, passed their final political hurdle at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, where they were endorsed by 367 votes to 206 with 109 abstentions.
June 18th, 2008
REGIONAL
GUYANA
Following a small fire at the National Cultural Centre, which damaged the stage and curtains, there was a shocking discovery of an apparent explosive device underneath the stage.
Passers-by as well as persons in the vicinity of the cultural centre saw smoke coming from the top of the building and the Guyana Fire Service was summoned. The fire was contained and a device which sent everyone scampering for safety was discovered.
JAMAICA
A long-standing proposal for Jamaicans living overseas to serve in the local Senate has been thwarted by a Supreme Court ruling.
The ruling states that persons who have sworn allegiance to a foreign power are not qualified to serve in the Jamaican Parliament, Prime Minister Bruce Golding told delegates attending the third Biennial Jamaican Diaspora Conference yesterday.
But Golding says the controversial issue is something that warrants discussion outside of the framework of the current parliamentary approach.
TRINIDAD
Thousands of Upper Sixth Form students resat the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination Communication Studies Paper II yesterday.
It was the first of the rescheduled exams following a leak of examination papers in May.
The consensus following the exam yesterday, was that it was fairly easier the second time around, due to better preparation.
June 17th, 2008
REGIONAL
CUBA
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez Frias arrived at Havana's International Airport in Havana yesterday where he was greeted by Cuban Vice President Carlos Lage Davila and Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque.
President Chavez will hold talks with top Cuban government officials on the aggravating world crisis and the bilateral relations between his country and Cuba.
In statements to the press, Chavez said he comes to explore new initiatives with Fidel and Raul Castro, since every revolution is based on creativity.
The Cuban and Venezuelan Revolutions are advancing satisfactorily, and the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (ALBA) is providing increasing opportunities within the region, said the Venezuelan Head of State.
GUYANA
Guyanese law enforcement on Monday killed two men believed to be members of the notorious Rondell Rawlins gang, while another man was arrested. Reports are that the two men were shot dead in Christmas Falls while another man was arrested near the village of Kwakwani, some 300 miles up the Berbice River.
Reports have confirmed that a third man was captured some 7 miles from Kwakwani on Monday afternoon. A police source has said that during questioning at the Kwakwani police station, the man confessed to be a member of the Rondell Rawlins gang.
According to the source, the man revealed the names of all the members of the gang and said that after the shooting last Friday at Christmas Falls the gang split up and headed in different directions.
These events follow the arrest on Sunday by police of two men in the city, whom they held under tight security at the CID Headquarters. One of the men, who are believed to be very close to Rawlins, is also a suspect in a number of murders. Both men remain in police custody.
June 16th, 2008
REGIONAL
JAMAICA
Nine months after leading her party to a narrow defeat in a general elections Portia Simpson Miller has cemented herself in the position of president of the People's National Party.
According to the latest Gleaner newspaper-commissioned Bill Johnson poll results, Simpson Miller is 18 percentage points ahead of her deputy, Dr Peter Phillips, in popular support for the positions of party president and leader of the Opposition.
Although Phillips himself has not openly challenged Simpson Miller for the presidency, in recent times some party insiders have been agitating for him to throw his hat into the ring.Phillips ran second to Simpson Miller in a bruising four-way race for the party presidency in February 2006. She won 47 per cent of the delegates' votes.
BARBADOS/ST. KITTS-NEVIS
The Sunday Sun is reporting that laws that make homosexuality and prostitution criminal offences in Caribbean countries are to be reviewed soon by the region's attorneys-general.
There is concern that the legislation gets in the way of strategies to stem the tide of the HIV/AIDS pandemic in the Caribbean, Prime Minister of St Kitts-Nevis Dr Denzil Douglas told a Barbados newspaper.
We have homosexuals and women who are commercial sex workers being stigmatised and being discriminated against and are in fact being criminalised because of the existing laws, Dr Douglas said in New York, after reporting to a special United Nations session on HIV/AIDS throughout the Caribbean.
Criminalisation of both homosexuality and prostitution was preventing people with the disease from stepping forward and seeking treatment, said Douglas, who has lead responsibility for health issues in CARICOM.
INTERNATIONAL
USA
United States presidential candidate Barack Obama has paid glowing tribute to Caribbean nationals who are celebrating Caribbean Heritage Month during the month of June.
During this Caribbean Heritage Month, we celebrate the many ways that people of Caribbean descent have strengthened this country we love; from serving brilliantly and bravely in Iraq and Afghanistan to helping grow our economy to enriching our culture, Obama said in a statement issued Friday.
CHINA
Flooding in southern China has killed at least 55 people and forced more than one million to flee their homes, the government says.
Torrential downpours have affected nine provinces, China's civil affairs ministry says. More rain is expected in the coming days, forecasters warn.
Among those provinces badly hit is Sichuan, which is still reeling from last month's massive earthquake. Some 87,000 people were killed or missing after the 12 May earthquake.
June 13th, 2008
REGIONAL
CUBA
Fourteen year old, Elian Gonzales, the Cuban boy who was at the center of an international custody battle eight years ago has joined Cuba's Young Communist Union.
Communist youth newspaper Juventud Rebelde quotes Elian as saying he will never let down ex-President Fidel Castro and his brother Raul Castro.
Elian, who was six years at the time, had survived a boating accident off the Florida coast that killed his mother, as they were attempting to get to the U.S. He was returned to Cuba in mid-2000 to join his father, when his Miami relatives lost their fight to keep him in the United States.
GUYANA
Guyana will soon be joining other Caribbean countries to provide a more secure passport system, which the region is introducing to protect against multiple issuance of the travel document.
“The equipment for the passports are currently being installed at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport "we hope by August the passport would be in Guyana,” Minister of Home Affairs Clement Rohee said.
On December 8, 2006 Minister Rohee and Canadian Bank Note Company Limited (CBN) Vice-President Simon Wall signed the final agreement for the production of the passports through a computerized system.
CBN is a Canadian company and has supplied secure passport-issuing systems to Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, St Kitts and Nevis and St Lucia and has delivered more than 50 secure identification systems to governments worldwide.
BELIZE
A $25,000 donation was delivered to Belize’s Permanent Representative to the OSA, Ambassador Nestor Mendez by Secretary General of the OAS Jose Miguel Insulza. The donation was made to assist in reconstruction efforts in Belize following the passage of tropical Storm Arthur late last month. That storm left four people dead, with one still missing, and brought severe flash floods.
Secretary General José Miguel Insulza conveyed the Organization’s sympathies and solidarity with the Central American nation in the wake of the catastrophic tropical storm.
INTERNATIONAL
AFGANISTAN
AFGANISTAN - Hundreds of Taliban fighters invaded villages just outside Afghanistan's second-largest city Monday, forcing NATO and Afghan troops to rush in and frightened residents to flee.
The Taliban assault on the outskirts of Kandahar was the latest display of prowess by the militants despite a record number of U.S. and NATO troops in the country.
June 12th, 2008
REGIONAL
BARBADOS About a dozen Africans, now deemed to have overstayed their welcome in the country are still at large. This was disclosed by Attorney-General Freundel Stuart, who warned the group, originally part of close to 100 visiting Ghanaians and Nigerians stranded in the country for nearly four months, they would bear the consequences of the islands laws if rounded up.
The Attorney General said he was scheduled to receive a report on the issue from former Assistant Commissioner of Police, Charles Blades, at month-end. However, he said while Blades investigation had reached as far as Trinidad and Tobago and was proceeding speedily, those Africans left behind after 86 of their countrymen, returned home on a half million-dollar charter flight on May 7, were still missing.
TRINIDAD
Government's fuel subsidy should spike to $6 billion by the end of the fiscal year. That's $4 billion more than last year. The tripling of the fuel subsidy, which stood at $2 billion in 2007, is as a direct result of Government's cushioning of rising oil prices globally. Oil closed at US$131 yesterday.
Trinidad and Tobago gets less than that for its crude and has to import to make up its quota to the National Petroleum Marketing Company Ltd. Finance Minister Karen Nunez-Tesheira said the fuel subsidy is based on US$32 a barrel.
JAMAICA
The National Environment and Planning Agency was yesterday rapped by Parliament's Public Accounts Committee for paying more than $700,000 to a garage for the storage of three vehicles that were originally sent there for diagnosis and repairs.
According to the 2006/07 Auditor-General's Report, NEPA incurred storage fees totalling $700,000 for the three motor vehicles which remained in a Kingston garage from February 2003 to October 2006.
Appearing before the PAC yesterday to give an explanation, NEPA's chief executive officer Dr Leary Myers said several attempts over the years to remove the vehicles had been met by resistance from the owners who charged $500 per day for storage.
INTERNATIONAL
USA
A key member of Senator Barack Obama's vice presidential search team, Jim Johnson, is stepping down after criticism over a mortgage he received, the Obama campaign said.
Republicans had been hammering Johnson since The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday that he received a good deal on a mortgage from Countrywide because of his friendship with Angelo Mozilo, the company's CEO. Obama has criticized Countrywide in connection with the subprime mortgage crisis.
June 11th, 2008
REGIONAL
JAMAICA
On the eve of the resumption of the bipartisan Vale Royal talks, Opposition spokesman on national security, Dr Peter Phillips, yesterday previewed the People's National Party's proposals on how to tackle spiralling crime, which should dominate today's discussions.
Early reaction from the Government was that most of Dr Phillips' proposals were welcomed. However, there seems to be little sympathy for his idea of resurrecting the controversial 1970s Home Guards under a new name, Corps of Community Safety Officers, to support the police.
Dr Phillips' most controversial proposal, presented to the House of Representatives yesterday in the sectoral debate, was for the return of the Home Guards, a civilian force formed in the 1970’s to support the police, but which lost its independent identity in the aggressive cold war climate and was likened to a pro-government militia.
GUYANA
A former government officer is optimistic that the large-scale agricultural plan the region is implementing to guarantee its food security could work, but only with careful planning and execution giving due consideration to various constraints.
Ivan Douglas, a former land development officer in the PNC administration, said he did not see any reason why the government’s and region’s push for an agricultural project should not be successful.
But he said there must be proper testing of the soil to determine the viability of certain crops and careful consideration of other factors, such as market availability.
Douglas, now 85 years old, said while the coastland was good for farming and the project might be successful in that regard, marketing needed to be fully developed in order for the produce to be sold.
A former government officer is optimistic that the large-scale agricultural plan the region is implementing to guarantee its food security could work, but only with careful planning and execution giving due consideration to various constraints.
Ivan Douglas, a former land development officer in the PNC administration, said he did not see any reason why the government’s and region’s push for an agricultural project should not be successful.
TRINIDAD
The camera of an automatic teller machine has caught three cops playing robbers. Three police officers attached to the Tunapuna Police Station are now set to be charged with the robbery of a businessman and will face a Tunapuna magistrate following the completion of identification parades tomorrow.
Three weeks ago, the businessman, who owns a bakery, left a casino at Grand Bazaar, after pocketing approximately $80,000 in winnings. The officers reportedly confronted the man as he made his way home, then allegedly robbed him of his winnings and beat him in an attempt to gain the personal identification number of his bank card, which they also took.
After the businessman yielded the information to the cops-turned-robbers, the lawmen made their way to a nearby ATM. It was at the automated teller that the officers were allegedly recorded on a security camera.
Over 100 students from Infants and Standard One classes were sent home early yesterday over fears of an outbreak of Chicken Pox at the San Fernando Boys’ Roman Catholic School after students fell sick with the highly contagious disease. However, classes are expected to resume as normal today.
There were conflicting reports over the number of students affected by the disease with some reports suggesting that more than ten students had fallen ill while a teacher confirmed that only two students contracted the disease.
BARBADOS
Prime Minister David Thompson yesterday put banks on notice that failure to pass on reduced taxes to consumers will meet with swift action by Government to raise premiums to boost the Deposit Insurance Corporation.
The blunt threat from Thompson, who is also Minister of Finance, met with bipartisan support in the House of Assembly with questions raised in the Opposition as well as from Government's front and back benches about punitive commercial bank fees, penaltie and interest rates.
Members also spoke about the lack of access to capital by small businesses and entrepreneurs, as well as the banking system's failure to invest in the productive sectors of the economy, especially tourism, the island's chief foreign currency spinner.
INTERNATIONAL
SUDAN
A jetliner burst into flames yesterday after landing in Sudan, killing at least 28 people, officials said. Khartoum Police Chief Mohammad Noor said a defect in the Sudan Airways plane caused it to catch fire as it touched down.
The Police Chief said the fire then led to an explosion on the airplane and there were a large number of passengers on board, some of whom survived.
Lighting up the night sky, flames consumed the plane as it sat on the runway at the airport, which is in the center of Khartoum near residential and business areas.
USA
U.S. President George Bush claimed that he had no regrets about the decision to invade Iraq and topple Saddam Hussein in 2003 and reiterated his determination to force Iran to halt its nuclear program.
Bush, making the final official visit to Europe of his presidency, was speaking at a press conference in Germany after talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel.
He said he had told Merkel that diplomacy remained his preferred choice for dealing with Iran. But he added that all options are on the table and said Tehran needed to verifiably suspend its uranium enrichment program.
PAKISTAN Pakistan's military has condemned an air strike by Afghanistan-based US forces that killed 11 of its troops as a "cowardly attack".
The incident happened inside Pakistan, near the border with Afghanistan, as US-led forces tackled pro-Taleban militants. The US military confirmed it had used artillery and air strikes after coming under fire from anti-Afghan forces. It comes amid rising tensions between the US and Pakistan militaries.
NEPAL
Nepal's deposed king will leave his palace today, a day before a deadline set by the Maoist-led constituent assembly, officials say.
The king will move to his summer residence, in the northwestern suburbs of Kath-man-do.
It is expected that his crown and royal specter and the former queen's tiara will become government property.
June 10th, 2008
REGIONAL
JAMAICA
Chairman of the Observer newspaper Gordon 'Butch' Stewart yesterday threw his support behind the island's police force, saying it was an exceptional one with far more good about it than bad.
His remarks appeared timed to lift the spirits of policemen and women facing death-wielding gunmen who pushed the murder tally past the 700 mark last weekend.Five cops have been gunned down since the start of the year and an eighth was shot and injured on the weekend.
Stewart, addressing the Jamaica Observer's 15th Anniversary Advertisers Appreciation Luncheon, also placed his speech in the context of the newspaper' strong editorial stance against the rising murder rate and the authorities' seemingly weak response to it.
TRINIDAD
Minister in the Ministry of Finance Mariano Browne yesterday responded to attacks directed against him by former Minister Dr Keith Rowley, saying: "If (former minister) Dr Keith Rowley wants to pick a fight, pick it with somebody else, I am not it.
On Sunday during the PNM Diego Martin West Constituency's 41st conference, Rowley accused Browne of saying on television that he had acted in self-interest, but Browne yesterday strongly dissociated himself from any such a statement. Browne said he noted that Rowley appeared to be back-pedalling on his original statements that the 50-room hotel at the Princes Building Grounds did not have Cabinet approval. He said when Rowley first began his public statement, he was certain that the hotel did not have approval sanction.
On Rowley's statement that there was a proposal to have UDeCOTT build 50 Presidential Suites at Hilton Trinidad, Browne said there was an idea to construct extra rooms because the country did not have enough suites for persons coming for the Summit of the Americas next year.
BARBADOS
Too many young people are ending up in Juvenile Court because of gambling.Magistrate Barbara Cooke-Alleyne made the assertion yesterday at the launch of In The Winner's Circle: Making The Right Choice, an all-day programme by the Office of the Attorney-General, Magistrate Cooke-Alleyne, and the Royal Barbados Police Force.
The programme is designed to help students leaving primary school and heading into secondary school fight the pressures of illicit sex, illegal drugs and other criminal activities.
Cooke-Alleyene stated that she find children spend their lunch hour engaging in playing dice, cock-fighting and dog-fighting and then they end up coming before her. She was speaking to the students of three primary schools who were invited to the pilot programme at District A Police Station.
BARBADOS
The Dominica government yesterday announced a change in its traditional pro-whaling voting position and said it would abstain on a vote for the sustainable use of marine resources at the 60th International Whaling Commission meeting in Chile, later this month.
Dominica, St. Lucia, Grenada and St. Vincent and the Grenadines have traditionally voted alongside Japan in favour of commercial whaling but Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit said his Cabinet had taken a decision not to support Japan at the June 23 meeting.
GUYANA
A US citizen was yesterday morning held at the Cheddi Jagan Airport with a quantity of cocaine strapped to his crotch, well placed sources at the airport told the Stabroek News.
Reports reaching the newspaper state that the man was an outgoing passenger on a BWIA flight 462 around ten o’clock yesterday morning when he was spotted acting suspiciously and approached by members of the Police Narcotics Branch. A search was conducted on his person during which, the cocaine was found strapped to his crotch. He was arrested by airport security before being handed over the ranks of the Criminal Investigation Department.
INTERNATIONAL
USA
Senator Barack Obama's vice presidential search team today showed a Democratic senator a list of about 20 people under consideration to be the presumptive Democratic nominee's running mate.
Senator Kent Conrad told CNN that some of those on the list are top officials now, others are former lawmakers and others are former top military leaders. He said many of the names already have been bandied about in the media, but others were outside the box.
European allies and US President George Bush threatened tougher sanctions today to squeeze Iran's finances and derail its potential pursuit of a nuclear weapon. Bush said the prospect of a nuclear-armed Iran would endanger world peace.
The president and EU leaders embraced new financial sanctions against Iran unless it verifiably suspends its nuclear enrichment. They said Iran must fully disclose any nuclear weapons work and allow the International Atomic Energy Agency to verify that work.
June 5th, 2008
REGIONAL
ST. LUCIA
Controversial ruling United Workers Party parliamentarian, Rufus Bous-quet, will rejoin the Cabinet of Ministers in the Stephenson King administration.
Confirmation of the move came Wednesday by Prime Minister King in his third televised address to the nation in as many weeks.
Bous-quet's return comes at the end of a protracted dispute within King's administration over a number of contentious issues which threatened to topple the government.
JAMAICA
National Security Minister Trevor MacMillan, himself under pressure for quick results, has reassured the nation that the security forces had begun to curtail violent crimes, using new measures introduced last week.
But the minister continued to hammer home the importance of public support for the efforts of the security forces, in order to make the country safer.
The minister admitted that the reduction in murders since last week was far from satisfactory, saying his security officers could do without any murders .
Murders up to last week have been inching towards the 700 mark, with women, children and police officers among those cut down by gunmen carrying out vicious attacks.
VIRGIN ISLANDS
The Virgin Island. Department of Licensing and Consumer Affairs fined the two St. Thomas Pueblo Supermarkets more than $61,000 for engaging in deceptive pricing of goods.
The action follows an overall fine of $23,000 that the agency imposed on the two St. Croix-based Pueblo Supermarkets on May 25, and DLCA officials say their investigation of pricing practices continues on all major grocers territory-wide.
Inspectors from the DLCA Division of Consumer Protection scanned more than 2,400 items at the St. Thomas locations and discovered that the scanner price was different than the advertised price.
INTERNATIONAL
USA
Senator Barack Obama and Senator Hillary Clinton met late yesterday in Washington, D.C. -- their first meeting since Obama became the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee.
The talks came two days after Obama effectively clinched the nomination for November's US presidential election.
A spokesman for Obama said the two former opponents met to talk about bringing their campaigns together and uniting the party.
Clinton has distanced herself from reports that she was hoping to stand as a vice-presidential running mate.
The last-minute meeting in Washington came after Obama spent the day campaigning in the Republican stronghold of Virginia - a signal that he is now targeting voters who might be drawn to Republican presumptive nominee John McCain.
USA
The alleged mastermind of the 9/11 attacks on the US and four other key suspects have appeared at a military tribunal in Guantanamo Bay.
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who was captured in Pakistan in 2003, dismissed the trial as an inquisition.
He said he had had five years under torture and wished to become a martyr.
June 4th, 2008
REGIONAL
ANTIGUA
A lawyer representing Antigua and Barbuda in its Internet gaming dispute with the United States says the two countries may not reach a compromise before Friday’s deadline.
Antigua’s legal counsel in the trade dispute, Mark Mendel, yesterday expressed the doubt even as talks continued between the two sides.
He said the government may decide to continue its negotiating efforts in hopes that some progress can be made.
Finance and Economy Minister Dr. Errol Cort said he was encouraged by ongoing talks with US officials but gave no indication on whether the two are any closer to a compromise.
TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
Trinidad and Tobago may not be spared from a hurricane or earthquake and the Government plans to put measures in place to minimize the impact of such natural disasters, Minister in the Ministry of National Security Donna Cox said yesterday.
The deadly destruction caused by a cyclone in Myanmar and an earthquake in China last month showed that island states, like Trinidad and Tobago, were vulnerable to natural disasters, said Cox.
She spoke of the earthquake which destroyed this country’s first capital in 1766 and the tremors which were felt when a 7.8 earthquake struck the Caribbean on November 29, 2007.
BARBADOS
Former Chief Executive officer of Hardwood Housing Factory Inc., Anthony Murrell, and others may face legal action over the recovery of company funds, tools and equipment.
That is the recommendations of forensic auditors who have also suggested Government seek legal advice regarding possible breaches of the customs laws and violation of the Money Laundering Prevention and Control Act.
INTERNATIONAL
USA
Barack Obama has announced a high-profile team to help select his running mate, after declaring himself the Democrat nominee for the US presidency.
The three-member team comprises Caroline Kennedy, daughter of President John Kennedy; former deputy Attorney General Eric Johnson performed the same selection task for John Kerry in 2004.
Obama will be the first black candidate for US president from a major political party.
UNITED NATIONS
The United Nations is to provide an additional £613m of food aid for 75 million people in the 60 nations hardest hit by rising food prices.
World Food Programme chief Josette Sheeran at a UN-sponsored summit in Rome made the announcement.
Food costs have reached a 30-year high, causing riots in several countries.
EUROPEAN UNION
Police have clashed with hundreds of fisherman protesting against the high cost of fuel outside the headquarters of the European Union in Brussels.
Several windows in EU buildings were broken and at least one car was overturned during the demonstration.
Riot police responded by firing water cannon and launching baton charges.
The fishermen have said they will go out of business unless the EU allows national governments to give them more financial aid and subsidize their fuel.
June 3rd, 2008
REGIONAL
BARBADOS
The illegal drug trade and firearms trafficking are leading to an increase in violent crimes across the Caribbean and this has triggered Commissioner of Police Darwin Dottin to call for resources, as well as a comprehensive range of diverse and sustainable programmes, to combat the problem.
Dottin said the peace and stability of the region were being threatened as a result of what he described as a relentless spiral in drug-related crimes and crimes of violence. He felt it was time for recommendations made by the CARICOM Regional Task Force On Crime to be applied.
Commissioner Dottin also stated it was apparent that the Caribbean has now reached that point where economic and other development, democracy, stability, quality of life, peoples' health and security are being severely threatened by growing crime and violence.
TRINIDAD
Trinidad and Tobago will be hosting the next Summit of the Americas of the Organisation of American States (OAS) for a three-day period next year, beginning on April 17.
Foreign Affairs Minister Paula Gopee-Scoon made the announcement while delivering a statement at the Summit Implementation Review Group (Meeting at the Ministerial Level in Medellin, Colombia, yesterday.
Gopee-Scoon chaired the SIRG Meeting, which was held as a precursor to the upcoming 38th Assembly of the OAS to be held in Colombia on June 1-3.
Until yesterday, the Government had stated the Summit would be held in April of 2009 but gave no exact dates.
The event would mark the first time the Summit would be hosted by a Caribbean country.
JAMAICA
Prime Minister Bruce Golding has expressed concern regarding insufficient efforts to inculcate correct morals and values in children in an effort to mitigate against antisocial behaviours in Jamaica.
Golding was addressing the Women's Leadership Initiative (WLI) annual Child Month fund-raising luncheon at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston yesterday.
If we don't create an enabling society for our children, then we will have to spend a lot of money doing retrofitting work, said Golding.
The prime minister conceded that the Government, because of budgetary constraints, often neglects the welfare of children and relevant social-intervention organisations.
Golding was speaking against the background that youths were arrested for major crimes such as murder, shooting, robbery and rape.
The Economic and Social Survey of Jamaica 2007 shows that 274 persons aged 12 to 25 were arrested for murder last year.
ST. KITTS & NEVIS
St. Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Dr. Denzil Douglas has called for the suspension of the protocol with the World Trade Organization (WTO) to allow Member Countries to produce more local agricultural products.
Addressing the United Nations Food and Agriculture Summit on World Food Security: the Challenges of Climate Change and Bio-energy, in Italy on Tuesday, the St. Kitts and Nevis Leader also called on the FAO to assist Member Countries with seeds, fertilizer and other inputs to assist the farmers to carry out a rapid production of agricultural products.
Dr. Douglas also said there was an urgent need to develop measures to ensure that the adverse effects of the higher food prices on the poor are minimized and that sustainable measures are developed and implemented to reduce poverty.
GUYANA
The time for education has passed and sanctions will be applied to errant miners, Prime Minister Samuel Hinds reiterated yesterday, while calling for a partnership between the media and the mining industry to transform the sector and its operations.
The PM, who holds the portfolio for mining, also admitted that the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission needed to increase its monitoring staff. Acting Commissioner of the GGMC, William Woolford said plans were ongoing to take up the slack and with 33 rangers in place and seven more were needed to provide a working number.
He noted that some are expected to graduate from the University of Guyana shortly and stated too that the Environmental Division of the regulatory body was slated for expansion.
Hinds said the time for educating and encouraging miners had passed and sanctions would be applied to those in breach of regulations. He said he wanted to encourage a new relationship between the media and the mining sector, adding that some criticisms were not helpful.
GUYANA
A top economist said he believed that the trade in counterfeit goods could be propping up Guyana’s ailing economy, but was also causing an untold number of job losses. He called for stiffer regulations to control the sale of fake commodities, which he said ranged from handbags to pharmaceuticals in the country.
But some consumers have pointed out that sometimes they get value for money with the fake goods and with the harsh economic realities here, it would be difficult for them to survive if they were to buy the real items.
Economist Dr Clive Thomas said that not only was the sale of counterfeit goods criminal, but it was also harming the country’s international trade reputation, cutting jobs and breeding corruption. Illicit cross-border flows, such as the smuggling of drugs, migrants, weapons, toxic waste, and dirty money, were proliferating on a global scale.
In Guyana, street vendors make a killing with the sale of falsely branded footwear, handbags and clothing, which Thomas, a University of Guyana Professor, said could lead to bigger crimes such as money laundering.
TRINIDAD
East Indian fashion has been identified by President George Maxwell Richards as one of the ways by which cultural integration is taking place among the country’s races.
Richards was addressing the Hindi Nidhi Foundation’s annual dinner, fashion and cultural evening at the HCU Convention Centre, on Saturday night.
The Hindi Nidhi Foundation, which was incorporated by Act of Parliament in 1989, promotes the Hindi language and helps preserve Indian culture and tradition among the Indian populace in Trinidad and Tobago.
INTERNATIONAL
USA
An operation to remove a malignant tumor from Sen. Edward Kennedy's brain was successful, and the Democrat should suffer no permanent damage from the procedure, his surgeon reported Monday.
The patient himself expressed satisfaction.
Kennedy said after the surgery he felt like I feel like a million bucks.
Kennedy's doctor's statement focused on the 3½-hour operation, which was performed at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina.
Dr. Allan Friedman said in a written statement issued after the procedure.
That he was pleased that Sen. Kennedy's surgery was successful and the goals were accomplished.
More than 400 children who were seized from a polygamist sect in Texas have begun returning home.
A judge in Texas signed an order allowing parents to take the children, who were removed from the sect's ranch by state authorities in April.
Officials had accused members of the sect of forcing young girls into under-age sex.
Former President Carter says he'll endorse Democrat Barack Obama after the polls close on the final primaries.
Carter, a superdelegate, has remained officially neutral in the race but has offered high praise to Obama. Carter has noted that his children, grandchildren and their spouses back the Illinois senator.
Hillary Clinton told colleagues Tuesday she would consider joining Barack Obama as his running mate, and advisers said she was withholding a formal departure from the race partly to use her remaining leverage to press for a spot on the ticket.
On a conference call with other New York lawmakers, Clinton, a New York senator, said she was willing to become Obama's vice presidential nominee if it would help Democrats win the White House.
Clinton's remarks came in response to a question from Democratic Nydia Velazquez, who said she believed the best way for Obama to win key voting blocs, including Hispanics, would be for him to choose Clinton as his running mate.
June 2nd, 2008
REGIONAL
GRENADA
Grenada’s Prime Minister Dr. Keith Mitchell announced last night at a public meeting in the fishing parish of St. John’s that July 8, 2008 is the date when Grenadians will go to the poll to elect a new government.
Nomination day is June 18th, with June 2nd, the last day when voters can register to vote.
The opposition Leader, Tillman Thomas says he is not surprised about the announcement and that his party was ready for the elections.
Thomas said with the economy is getting worse, with people’s yearning for change rising and with the finger-pointing already started in the ruling party, Dr Mitchell found himself cornered and with no way to run.
BARBADOS
Arrangements are being finalized for manufacturers, farmers and fishing boat owners to be reimbursed 23 cents by Government for each litre of diesel purchased as part of its recently announced relief package for the productive sectors and public transportation.
This is the system by which last week's price reduction in diesel for the productive sectors will be operationalized.
Public service vehicle operators will access the reduced priced diesel from Transport Board depots across the island.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance and Energy, William Layne, told the Barbados Advocate diesel will be provided in the usual way that it is provided and the only thing different is that the PSV operators are getting their diesel free of excise tax, and they have entered into an arrangement with the Transport Board.
Prime Minister David Thompson announced last week Monday that in order to alleviate the pressure on productive sectors, farmers, fishermen and manufacturers would enjoy a 27-cent reduction.
JAMAICA
Prime Minister Bruce Golding says he will be urgently seeking a resumption of talks with the People's National Party (PNP) to discuss Jamaica's crime problem.
Golding's comments follow heavy criticism from the Opposition PNP, the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica and human rights groups about his administration's slow response to the recent wave of murders.
On Thursday, PSOJ President Christopher Zacca demanded that the Government share with the country its plan to curb the rise in homicides.
The previous day, Golding said it was not the remit of the Government to draft such a plan, but he later said prime minister said his comments were misunderstood. He stressed that it was the job of any government to protect its people.
BARBADOS
The Caribbean will get a boost of more than US$8 million over the next five years to reduce the risks posed by hazards in the region.
It will come through the Canadian International Development Agency and the UK's Department for International Development partnership support for the Comprehensive Disaster Management (CDM) programme.
CIDA will give US$3.2 million as part of its Caribbean Disaster Risk Management Programme 2008-2012, while DFID will contribute US$4.7 million as part of its Development Strategy for the Caribbean Region 2008-2013.
Coordinator of the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response Agency, Jeremy Collymore, said this joint initiative is a landmark intervention that will strengthen our efforts to promote programme-based approaches to disaster management.
GUYANA
In the light of the current global food crisis, Guyana renewed its call for the establishment of a special fund to provide support for access to appropriate technology, new varieties, and training for small-scale agricultural producers, at the regional high-level meeting on food security in Caracas on May 30th.
The call was made by Ambassador Odeen Ishmael who also urged the international financial institutions to provide concessionary term credit for small agricultural producers to assist them in overcoming the high cost of restarting after losses due to floods, pests or other natural phenomena.
JAMAICA
Stung by the spiralling murder tally, Minister of National Security Colonel Trevor MacMillan yesterday vowed to use the full force of the law to stop the bloodshed he described as one of the worst in Jamaica's history.
MacMillan said that he would be announcing a multi-dimensional response to the country's crime problems within a few days, acknowledging that criminals had been operating with impunity for far too long and that the State would not allow itself to be overrun by them.
He admitted that the country had been experiencing one of the bloodiest periods of its history, noting that since the start of May, 181 persons have been murdered, at an average of six per day.
TRINIDAD
Government has intervened to settle the troubles of the Hindu Credit Union as the beleaguered co-operative society faces an ongoing financial run by savers and depositors who want their money back.
Three years after thousands of credit union members started clamouring to get millions of their saved dollars back from the Chaguanas-based co-operative society, the HCU has now turned to the State for help.
Finance Minister Karen Nunez-Tesheira confirmed that the financial worries of the HCU were currently engaging Government's attention.
GUYANA
The newly constructed building to house the National Archives will be named in honour and in memory of the late internationally renowned Guyanese scholar, Dr. Walter Rodney.
Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr. Roger Luncheon confirmed this at his weekly media briefing at Office of the President.
Dr Lucheon said the official opening and naming exercise would be done at a date to be announced soon.
Rodney is recognized especially for his contribution to understanding the history of Third World political economy, notably in Africa and Guyana, as well as his academic works in support of that scholarship.
He was killed in 1980 when a bomb, disguised as a two-way radio communication device, exploded while he was carrying it on his person in Georgetown.
PUERTO RICO
American Airlines and American Eagle have announced another reduction in their services to the Caribbean, even as regional tourism ministers said they had devised a strategy to help the sector deal with flight cuts by United States carriers.
American Airlines will no longer serve Antigua, St Maarten and Santo Domingo with jet service out of San Juan. It will also reduce flights into San Juan from 38 to 18 from September 3, as well as discontinue nonstop daily service to San Juan from a number of US cities.
American Eagle will reduce its Caribbean schedule from 55 to 33 daily departures out of San Juan from September 3 and eliminate daily flights from San Juan to Aruba as well as to Samana, Dominican Republic. Both destinations will continue to be served daily from Miami.
DOMINICA
At the end of its 2008 Annual Article IV Consultation in Dominica, an IMF mission has reported that the Dominican economy is recovering well following the passage of Hurricane Dean last year. Article IV Consultations are conducted on an annual basis on the economic performance of all member countries of the IMF.
The mission reported that the Dominican economy registered Real GDP growth of about 1.5 % in 2007, despite the effects of the hurricane and is running at 2.5 -3% for this year. A Statement by the IMF following their May 19-28, 2008 visit to Dominica stated _the authorities’ sound economic programme has helped the Dominican economy to weather the effects of the hurricane and a more difficult external environment.
It also said Government’s determination to continue implementing economic policies aimed at reducing the public debt ratio and creating buffers against external shocks and natural disasters is commendable.
CAYMAN ISLANDS
With the onset of 2008’s hurricane season, both the public and private sector are calling on the community to be prepared and avoid complacency despite the relative lack of storm activity over the last several years.
In a statement marking the beginning of the season, which started yesterday and runs until the end of November, the Leader of Government Business, Kurt Tibbetts stressed the importance of each person taking responsibility for being prepared.
Hurricane possibilities are an unavoidable fact of life in the Cayman Islands and so preparation for the storm season should be an automatic response for us as well, he said.
Tibbetts also set Monday, 16 June as a national day of preparedness and encouraged householders to use the day to prepare their properties and review plans for action in the case of an emergency.
TRINIDAD
Human rights organisation Amnesty International has criticized local police for reports of abuse, unlawful killings by state agents and a continued pattern of impunity for such killings.
The organisation in its 2007 report published on its website, stated that in March 2006, police constable Dave Burnett was convicted for the January 2004 murder of Kevin Cato. The organisation noted that it was the first time since this country's independence in 1962 that a police officer had been convicted of a murder committed while on duty.
However, it noted that despite this, there was reportedly little progress in the investigations into 37 other cases of alleged killings by state agents committed since September 2003, and intimidation of witnesses was widely reported.
BARBADOS
LIAT has announced that it has decided to review its commission structure to travel agent partners, as the Caribbean airline strives to remain viable in an industry hard pressed by rising fuel and other operating costs.
Effective July 1, 2008, LIAT will only pay a commission to Travel Agents using the LIAT Agency Web Portal and will discontinue commissions on all bookings made through the GDS, the Global Distribution System).
In addition, the commission level currently offered to all Travel Agencies in the region using the LIAT Agency Web Portal will be set at five percent, as the introductory incentive paid for agents using Navi-taire since its introduction in 2005 will now be removed.
To assist Travel Agencies in the transition to a new commission structure, LIAT has pledged to implement Performance and Seasonality based schemes such as incentives, overrides and bonus commission programmes.
INTERNATIONAL
SOMALIA
Suspected Islamic insurgents fired mortar rounds at a plane carrying Somalia's transitional president, but no one was harmed, a presidential spokesman said.
The attack happened while the plane was about to take off from Mogadishu's airport yesterday
An Islamic militia that is trying to seize control of Somalia is reported to be responsible for the attack.
USA
Sen. Edward Kennedy entered Duke University Medical Center today for surgery to treat a malignant brain tumor.
The 76-year-old Democratic and his wife, Vicki, along with a team of doctors at Massachusetts General Hospital, have consulted with experts from around the country and have decided that the best course of action is targeted surgery followed by chemotherapy and radiation.
Hillary Clinton's uphill bid for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination suffered further blows after a compromise in a dispute over Michigan and Florida delegates barely enabled her to chip into Barack Obama's commanding lead and low turnout in Puerto Rico ended any chance of winning the popular vote overall.
With just two primaries remaining tomorrow, Obama is almost certain to win the nomination even with Clinton's 2-to-1 victory in Puerto Rico yesterday.
The Obama camp said it expects this week to get the 2,118 delegates needed to clinch the nomination at the Democrats' August convention, and many experts agree.
ENGLAND
Prime Minister Gordon Brown is urging his backbenchers to support plans to allow the police to detain terror suspects for 42 days without charge.
Writing in the Times, he said the extension from 28 days was the right way to protect national security.
But Brown faces opposition from about 50 of his own MPs, in addition to Liberal Democrats and Conservatives, amid fears that a change would infringe civil liberties.
ZIMBABWE
Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe is reported to have arrived in Rome to attend a UN food summit.
State television said his wife and senior government officials are accompany Mugabe on the trip.
It is Mugabe's first visit to Europe since the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) won a majority in parliamentary elections in March.
Mugabe and his ministers are usually subject to a European Union travel ban - but he is able to attend UN forums.
