LIAT seeks to assure customers of improved services

ST. JOHN’S, Antigua, CMC – The regional airline, LIAT, Monday assured the travelling public that it is committed to improving the level of service offered by the airline even as disgruntled pilots warned of “several vexing issues”. The airline did not specifically refer to a ...
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Major private-sector bodies form CARICOM working group

KINGSTON, Jamaica - On the heels of recent public commentary regarding Jamaica's trade agreements with CARICOM comes news that four of the country's major organisations have formed a broad-based Private Sector Working Group to examine CARICOM and other free trade agreements. The Jamaica Cha...
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Clash over CARICOM - Let’s fix it!

KINGSTON, Jamaica - Forty years is not a long time in the life of an organisation. However, it is sufficient time to make an assessment of its performance towards achieving its mission, vision and strategic goals. CARICOM, which was formed by former colonies in the British West Indies in their quest...
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Clash over CARICOM - Let’s take a break!

KINGSTON, Jamaica - The following is an edited version of a speech delivered to the Lions Club of Kingston recently. Many Jamaicans are still uncertain as to the net benefits of our membership of CARICOM. The primary concern has been our trading relations with Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) within t...
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Transparency’s barometer: Caribbean under pressure?

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad - Corruption: it’s the big story in the Caribbean. Only here? In one view, it’s a universal problem; we should pay up quietly, tolerate a world of overpriced contracts, runaway crime and substandard services. In another, it’s controllable. Sweden is cleaner ...
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T&T needs good neighbour policy

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad - Venezuela, now in international headlines as a likely asylum home for US espionage fugitive Edward Snowden, is also worthy of heightened attention in bilateral relations with Trinidad and Tobago. As he registered his presence in T&T during this month’s CARICOM tal...
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Vocational training key to future of decent work in the region

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados - Strengthening training strategies will be the key to meeting the challenges in the labour market in the Caribbean region. This came out of the ILO American Centre for Knowledge Development in Vocational Training (ILO-CINTERFOR) meeting held in Trinidad last week, where 65 voca...
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We must all be prepared for a storm

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados - When disaster hits in the Caribbean, Barbadians take pride in reaching out to help. Still, we do not seem to understand that the disasters which have left a path of destruction across the Caribbean can also happen here. Just reflect on David in Dominica in 1979, Gilbert in Jam...
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Learn from the misfortune of others

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados - SOME of the comments made following the passage of Tropical Storm Chantal were disturbing, to say the least. That system, which passed about 45 miles north of Barbados last Tuesday, did not do any damage to the island and most Barbadians were relieved that we were spared once ...
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World Bank helps Haitian adolescents in skills training

WASHINGTON, CMC – The World Banks says it has aided young, vulnerable women in Haiti in successfully learning new skills in joining the labor force. Through a US$1 million grant, the Washington-based financial institution said the Haiti Adolescent Girls Initiative (AGI) has empowered young lad...
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