KINGSTON, Jamaica - Prime Minister Dr. Denzil Douglas says he will look towards his Caribbean Community (CARICOM) colleagues to help St. Kitts-Nevis deal with the new high income country status placed on it by the United States. Dr. Douglas said that his administration would pursue talks with the Obama administration so as to ensure that despite the new status the trading privileges afforded to other CARICOM countries are preserved.
ST JOHN’S, Antigua – Students from Haiti who took up hospitality studies here last year under a special scholarship programme say they are making good grades. After four months at the Antigua & Barbuda Hotel Training Institute, the four Haitian students say they have passed all their subjects with flying colours. Associate degree student Nicholas Louis Le Jeune says not only are they making good grades, but they also made friends and overcame the language barrier.
CASTRIES, St. Lucia, CMC- St Lucia’s Prime Minister, Dr. Kenny Anthony believes Haiti’s recovery efforts after the devastating earthquake in 2010 has the potential to create an employment boom in the construction sector. Speaking on the anniversary of the earthquake, he noted that during a recent visit to the country there were signs that the country is on the road to recovery. Earlier this month Anthony attended a meeting of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Bureau in Haiti to pass on the Chairmanship of CARICOM to the President of Haiti.
NEW YORK, CMC – As Haiti marks the third anniversary of the devastating January 12, 2010 earthquake, Caribbean American Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke has renewed calls for heightened action to help the improved, French-speaking Caribbean country recover quickly. “Despite the many years that have since passed, the people of Haiti are still struggling to rebuild their infrastructure,” Clarke, the daughter of Jamaican immigrants, who represents the 9th Congressional District in Brooklyn, New York, told the Caribbean Media Corporation.
ST. GEORGE’S, Grenada, CMC – Prime Minister Tillman Thomas Sunday named February 19 as the date for a general election here, urging supporters of his ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) to return his party to power for another five year term.
Thomas, who led the NDC to an 11-4 victory in the 2008 general election, did not name the date for nomination of candidates.
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti -- President Michel Martelly urged Haitians to recall the tens of thousands of people who lost their lives in a devastating earthquake three years ago, marking the disaster's anniversary Saturday with a simple ceremony. Former U.S. president Bill Clinton joined Martelly later in the day for a similarly quiet wreath-laying commemoration.
GEORGETOWN, Guyana - In the movie, The Life of Pi, when the protagonist’s father seeks to reinforce his argument for the family’s move to Canada, he proudly declaims, “We will sail like Columbus!” The teenage Pi wryly reminds him, “But Columbus was looking for India!” And we all know that is why our region is called the West Indies. Almost unremarked, however, a curious inversion of the Genoese sailor’s geographically-challenged quest for the riches of the East has been taking place over the past 15 years.
GEORGETOWN, Guyana, CMC – The Guyana government has criticised the decision by the opposition to introduce legislation aimed at repealing the benefits afforded to former heads of state. A bill to repeal the Former Presidents (Benefit and Other Facilities) Act had its first reading in the National Assembly on Thursday and follows a promise made by the opposition grouping, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), during the campaign for the last national elections that it would seek to that it would seek to repeal the legislation.
NASSAU, Bahamas, CMC – The Bahamas says it is hoping to use the upcoming Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) Marketplace to boost tourist arrivals to the country. Tourism Minister Obie Wilchombe, speaking at a news conference to launch the January 20-22 event, said the overall goal is to increase the number of stopover visitors in 2013 from 1.6 to 1.8 million, surpassing the record 2008 figure that stood at 1.3 million.
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad - Government plans to lobby CARICOM for a decrease in the duties on cement, Trade Minister Vasant Bharath said yesterday. He spoke about the 9.5 per cent increase announced by Trinidad Cement Limited (TCL) during yesterday’s post-Cabinet news conference.
Bharath said Cabinet approved two options for dealing with the cement price hike. The first was to approach CARICOM and the second was to look at the ways in which Trinidad Cement Ltd (TCL) could be more efficient.