BRIDGETOWN, Barbados - PARTICIPANTS in the ill-fated Boston Marathon could not have known or anticipated that a fatal bombing awaited them at the finish line. This incident again raises the ugly spectre of terrorism, which knows no bounds. We have previously said that although we are not in the line of fire, the Caribbean is not entirely immune from such horror. We need to pay particular attention to national security, particularly the drug trade that engulfs us so much that the focus is on establishing special drug courts.

ST. GEORGE’S, Grenada, CMC – Grenada says it will use funds provided by the World Bank to facilitate the liberalisation of its electricity sector as part of an initiative being undertaken by other countries within the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS). Public Utilities Minister Gregory Bowen told Parliament that EC$1.4 million (One EC dollar = US$0.37 cents) from the World Bank would be used to facilitate the process.

ST. GEORGE’S, Grenada, CMC – Former foreign affairs minister Karl Hood, who filed a motion of no confidence in the former Tillman Thomas administration, has been appointed Grenada’s Ambassador to China.
Hood, who appeared on the political platform of the then opposition New National Party (NNP) ahead of the February 19 general election, will replace Stephen Fletcher, who has since returned home.

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad - As the Prime Minister begins the first full day of her official four-day visit to Canada today, a trade and investment mission facilitated by InvesTT and ExporTT will conduct a concurrent session from tomorrow. “From April 25-27, a delegation of Trinidad and Tobago senior government officials and private sector business leaders will conduct a trade and investment mission to Toronto, parallel to an official visit by the Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar to Canada,” a release from the Government Information Services Ltd (GISL) said yesterday.

KINGSTON, Jamaica - A World Bank mission is expected in Jamaica next month to continue work on the new Country Partnership Strategy (CPS). The disclosure was made by Minister of Finance and Planning Dr Peter Phillips while speaking to JIS News in Washington, DC, on the outcome of the April 19-22 regular Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank in the US capital. The CPS will provide support for the country as it looks to increase economic growth, create jobs and fight poverty.