Beyond the IMF — Solutions for growth

KINGSTON, Jamaica - FOR the last 40 years, Jamaica has continued to suffer from a low growth rate, which averages approximately of 0.8 per cent per annum. The national debt now stands at $1.7 trillion, about 140 per cent of our GDP, which has effectively forced us to return to the International Mone...
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EDITORIAL - America must not surrender democracy

KINGSTON, Jamaica - Like President Obama, this newspaper hopes that America will soon find out who is responsible for Monday's bombings in Boston and that they are made, as he puts it, "to feel the full weight of justice". Yet, we appreciate the measured and methodical approach of the United St...
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Air Passenger Duty: ‘Stinging us for everything we’ve got’

KINGSTON, Jamaica - IT IS automatically added to every flight out of the UK, but when The Voice spoke to Caribbean-bound travellers at Gatwick Airport, some had never even heard of air passenger duty (APD). The travel tax has been rising year-on-year making billions in revenues for the government, ...
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The EPA — Better late than never

KINGSTON, Jamaica - OUR commendation goes to fellow columnist Sir Ronald Sanders for his insightful and descriptive piece on the Cariforum states and the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the EU (Sunday Observer 7th April ). This agreement has been somewhat of a non-starter since its provis...
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EDITORIAL - The PM’s Divestment Of Leadership

KINGSTON. Jamaica - Leadership is often a difficult, lonely process that is not given to being franchised out. But judging from her handling of the Richard Azan debacle, this is a concept that Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller does not find opportune, at this time, to embrace. The PM, instead, u...
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‘A dark night of the soul’

 KINGSTON. Jamaica - 'A dark night of the soul' is how National Security Minister Peter Bunting described what some are calling his meltdown in an unusually candid speech saying divine intervention was necessary to defeat crime in Jamaica. Thirteen was indeed an unlucky number for Bunt...
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WTO director: No safe place in world

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad - There is no safe place in the world. That was the response yesterday from Carlos Vogeler, regional director for the Americas, World Tourism Organisation (WTO) in response to questions about the double bombing at the Boston marathon and reports that 50 tourists aboard a bus ...
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Whither Chavismo without Chavez?

KINGSTON, Jamaica - MR Nicolas Maduro, late President Hugo Chavez' choice to succeed him, was elected president of Venezuela on Monday by a very narrow margin. But his opponent, Mr Henrique Capriles has challenged the legitimacy of the result, claimed victory and called for a recount by hand of ...
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IMF cuts growth forecast for Jamaica

KINGSTON. Jamaica - THE International Monetary Fund (IMF) lowered its 2013 growth forecast for Jamaica, with the country now projected to grow by .5 per cent, down from the one per cent estimate in October 2012. But the country's economy should strengthen in 2014, with real GDP growth of 1.2 pe...
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