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Caribbean’s First Diplomatic Academy Opens in Trinidad

The new Diplomatic Academy of the Caribbean officially opened at the University of the West Indies St Augustine Campus in Trinidad on Tuesday.

Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar was on hand for the opening of the academy, which is a joint project between the government of Trinidad and Tobago, the Trinidad Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the UWI’s Institute of International Relations.

It is the first academy of its kind in the Caribbean.

St Kitts Reports Major Drop in Crime

St Kitts and Nevis is reporting a significant drop in crime, according to new data from the Royal St Christopher and Nevis Police Force.

According to the new data, the island reported a 70 percent dip in crime in April compared to the same month in 2013.

“Despite our challenges, it is very clear that crime has trended down in the Federation and is reflected by the Federation’s statistics of – 69.5% in April 2014 compared to the same time 2013,” the Office of the Commissioner of Police said in a statement.

St Lucia Announces Plan to Join Caribbean Court of Justice

St Lucia is planning to accede to the Caribbean Court of Justice as the country’s final court of appeal, the government announced this week.

“My Government will therefore follow the lead of the Commonwealth of Dominica and proceed, pursuant to section 41(7) of our Constitution,   to advise Her Majesty’s Government that it wishes to give effect to the international Agreement establishing the Caribbean Court of Justice,” St Lucia Governor General Dame Pearlette Louisy said in her recent Throne Speech.

MINISTRY OF HEALTH ON VERGE OF RAPID HIV TESTING

Basseterre, St. Kitts, May 09, 2014 (SKNIS): The St. Kitts and Nevis Ministry of Health is on the verge of offering Point of Care (POC) Rapid Testing as a means of scaling up prevention and early detection of HIV.

The National AIDS Secretariat in the Ministry of Health has informed that Voluntary Counselling and Testing (VCT) Providers are currently in training for the administration of the new POC Rapid Testing for HIV.

Cultural Heritage tourism a fast growing niche for countries

Barbados must move with haste to cash in on the benefits to be made from the fast-growing cultural heritage tourism niche.

Minister of Tourism and International Transport, Richard Sealy, offered this suggestion to scores of preservationists attending the 1st Caribbean Conference of National Trusts and Preservation Societies yesterday at the Savannah Hotel.

Noting there were significant gains to be made from cultural heritage tourism, Mr. Sealy said: “There is ample evidence now that cultural heritage tourism is indeed one of the fastest growing segments of tourism.

CCJ orders Guyana to repay Surinamese beverage company US$6 million in environmental tax

The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) on Thursday ordered Guyana to repay a Surinamese beverage manufacturer more than US$6 million in environmental tax that had been levied on non-returnable bottles because it amounts to a discriminatory import duty that violates Caricom’s Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas (RTC).

The CCJ took note of the fact that the Guyana government had taken steps last year to amend the law to create a level playing field for both local and Caribbean beverage manufacturers.

Guyana and Suriname participate in Arab-South America culture meeting

By Ray Chickrie
Caribbean News Now contributor

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia -- Guyana and Suriname, both members of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), participated in the third Arab-South America (ASPA) culture ministers meeting last week between the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) and the Arab League members in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The meeting ended on Wednesday.

Haiti takes new step toward organizing crucial elections

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (HCNN) -- Haiti's President Michel Martelly issued on Tuesday an executive order to appoint a new provisional electoral council as provided by a political agreement signed in March to facilitate crucial legislative and local elections to avoid a looming political crisis in the Caribbean country.

In the executive order, Martelly named nine members of the electoral council, but only one of them, Fritzto Canton, is new, because the eight others, who were already appointed, have been confirmed in their seats by the institutions which selected them.

IDB to launch new online tool for agriculture policy analysis in the Caribbean

WASHINGTON, USA -- The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) will launch on Thursday, May 8 the Agrimonitor Producer Support Estimate (PSE) Agricultural Policy Monitoring System, an online tool for agricultural analysis with the goal of improving farming policies and practices in Latin America and the Caribbean, during a workshop at its headquarters.

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