KINGSTON, Jamaica - Whatever your view, good or bad, of Margaret Thatcher, the former British prime minister (PM) who died on Monday, there is no gainsaying that she was a transformative figure whose influence transcended the United Kingdom (UK). Further, in our current circumstance, Baroness Thatcher, her politics, and the way she forced Britain to confront its economic demons have relevance for Jamaica.
KINGSTON, Jamaica - One of Jamaica's closest allies at the end of the Cold War in the 1980s was Great Britain under then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher as the Conservative Party in that country and the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) shared a similar vision. Dubbed the 'Iron Lady', Thatcher was a close political ally of former prime minister of Jamaica, Edward Seaga, described as another leader of steely mettle. Both flaunted implacable demeanours as they steered their ships of state through the turbulent waters of a world fiercely divided by political ideology.
ST JOHN’S, Antigua - There are many pathways to fame and fortune and sport is one of them. Truth be told, it is the road less travelled by many young people who really ought to consider it in the face of very few options. The Caribbean consists of countries, which by no stretch of the imagination can be considered as affluent. In almost every sphere of endeavour, we would be left in the dust, trailing behind those nations that are well endowed with the world’s goods – except in this one sphere called sports.
KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – A member of the British Royal family is due here on April 15 for a five-day visit, it has been officially announced. A government statement said that Prince Michael Of Kent, will attend a special luncheon hosted by Governor-General, Sir Patrick Allen on April 16 and also pay an official visit to the Sir John Golding Rehabilitation Centre and the Mona Geo-Informatics Institute, at the University of the West Indies. The following day he will call on Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller and Opposition Leader, Andrew Holness.
ST JOHN’S, Antigua – LIAT staff told OBSERVER media on Monday that an ongoing industrial dispute between the airlines engineers and management did not affect the airlines flights from the VC Bird International Airport.
A senior LIAT employee confirmed that on Monday at least one aircraft was grounded in Grenada because of the dispute.
An engineer told OBSERVER media engineers are angry that management has responded to the pilots’ demands for allowances while ignoring theirs.
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC –Destination stability and competitiveness in the current global environment, are some of the issues that will be addressed at the upcoming Sustainable Tourism Conference to be held here April 15-18.
The 14th annual conference of the Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO) will feature Carlos Vogeler, the regional director for the Americas at the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).
ROSEAU, Dominica, CMC – Dominica Monday launched an US$7.4 million water upgrade project that the authorities said would benefit thousands of residents and consumers in the north, east and south of the country. The Mero to Castle Comfort project dubbed “The Third Water Supply Project Water Area-1 (WA-1) Network Upgrade” the project and is being funded by a US $6.1 million loan from the Barbados-based Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), the Dominica government and the Dominica Water and Sewerage Company (DOWASCO).
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC - The Environmental Management Authority (EMA) says it is unable to identify any environmental reasons why more than 100 black vultures (Coragyps atratus) died in West Trinidad on Monday. The EMA said it is also working on the theory that the birds may have been feeding on the carcass of an animal which had been poisoned. “We can’t identify an environmental cause as such that they were exposed to. There were 150 birds, we estimated. There was nothing else in the vicinity.
ST. JOHN’S, Antigua, CMC – Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries are among several nations committed to a ministerial declaration and a three year action plan that aims, among other things, to create at least one biosphere reserve in each Caribbean Small Island Developing State.
KINGSTON, Jamaica - Private-sector leaders say reports yesterday that Jamaica could have a new deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) by month end will have some immediate positive impact, but warned that it cannot be business as usual. With the continued devaluation of the Jamaican dollar, the heads of the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ), the Jamaica Manufacturers' Association (JMA), and the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce (JCC) all agreed that stability in the foreign-exchange markets would be one of the immediate impacts of the pending IMF agreement.