GEORGETOWN, Guyana, Stabroek News - Once US President Barack Obama had announced that the planned September one-on-one meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin had been removed from his itinerary, the announcement was bound to become the subject of immediate and intense interest among foreign policy analysts, keen to contemplate the implications of the announcement for longer-term relations between Washington and Moscow. The cancellation of the summit was predictable.

HAVANA, (Reuters) – Fidel Castro turns 87 today, largely out of sight but not out of mind, as Cuba struggles to move on from his half-century rule and as many of his policies are reconsidered under the leadership of his younger brother Raul. The birthday of one of Latin America’s most iconic revolutionary figures has been a low key celebration in recent years. A choral concert in his honor at the Jose Marti national monument in Havana last evening was the only official event planned.

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, Advocate - Perhaps every Budget Day is considered to be ‘the most anticipated in recent history’, but we can say with some measure of confidence that this is indeed the case with today’s expected presentation of the 2013 Financial Statements and Budgetary Proposals. Ever since the most recent National Consultation at the end of June, an air of anxiety has permeated the country.

WASHINGTON, CMC – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) says the economy of Trinidad and Tobago is poised for a modest recovery in 2013, after disappointing growth in 2012 that was due largely to supply constraints, including maintenance operations in the energy sector and an industrial dispute in the non-energy sector. The IMF is projecting that the real gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 1.5 per cent in 2013, with risks slightly to the downside, should development spending be under-executed.

KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent, CMC – Opposition Leader Arnhim Eustace is calling on the St. Vincent and the Grenadines government to re-think its position on the issue of economic citizenship programme. The Ralph Gonsalves government repealed the citizenship by investment (CIP) programme soon after it came to power in 2001 and Prime Minister Gonsalves has already said he has no intention of following other Caribbean countries in providing the programme that is aimed at luring foreign investors.