Oil exploration suspended

HAVANA, Cuba, CMC – A Russian state oil company drilling off Cuba’s northern shores says it is temporarily halting its exploration. Zarubezhneft said it was halting work because of “geological” problems but will resume oil exploration next year. The announcement signaled an e...
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Scores Die in Fire at Chinese Poultry Plant

HONG KONG — Explosions and fire tore through parts of a poultry plant in northeast China on Monday, killing at least 119 people, in one of the country’s worst factory accidents in recent years. Residents near the factory, the Baoyuanfeng Poultry Plant, in Jilin Province heard blasts at a...
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Repercussions of the Colorado ‘experiment’

ST JOHN’S, Antigua - Marijuana has always been on the banned list of drugs. It has been in use for thousands of years. In Jamaica, it is known as ganja, and its cultivation and use have been forbidden by law. Associated with the ganja, is the chillum pipe that is used for filtering the smoke t...
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Still a priority

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados - The head of one of the United Nations agencies is concerned about the length of time it takes for cases of gender-based violence, including sexual assault of children, to be heard in the court system. Christine Arab, who recently took up the post as Representative of UN Women ...
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Police Commissioner warns drug traffickers

CASTRIES, St.Lucia, CMC - The annual exercises between law enforcement in the Caribbean and US military ended here on the week end with a stern warning to drug traffickers from St.Lucia's Police Commissioner, Vernon Francois. "St.Lucia is no safe haven for your drug activities," Francois said wh...
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Travel taxes vs the tourism market

KINGSTON, Jamaica - Caribbean nations have been relatively slow to recognise that long-term structural changes taking place in tourism require a new and strategic vision for a sector that many industry professionals in the region regard as underperforming. Over the last two decades competition for v...
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CAL issues ‘of great concern’

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad - Jamaica’s Prime Minister, Portia Simpson-Miller, has said the relationship between Caribbean Airlines Ltd (CAL) and the carrier it acquired in 2011, Air Jamaica, is a “great cause of concern for the Jamaican people”. Simpson-Miller made the comment while s...
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Corruption allegations in the Cayman Islands

KINGSTON, Jamaica - The British overseas territories often seem to have the best of both worlds. They are 14 island nations that represent a hangover from Britain's imperial past. On the one hand, they have a high degree of autonomy and constantly agitate for more. But on the other hand, they re...
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Bar Association rejects former PM’s stance on regional courts

ST JOHN’S, Antigua – The president of the Antigua & Barbuda Bar Association (ABBA) has rejected the notion by former Prime Minister Lester Bird that Caribbean courts appear to be leaning towards political leaders. Speaking on OBSERVER media’s Big Issues programme on Sunday, Art...
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