KINGSTON – Lawyers representing the Jamaica government yesterday served notice at the Shanique Myrie trial that they would present evidence to show that Barbados has engaged in a pattern of discrimination against visiting Jamaicans.
The evidence, according to lead attorney Kathy-Ann Brown, includes statistics compiled over the last five years and first-hand accounts from several people who said they were mistreated by Immigration officers.
KINGSTON, Jamaica - Late Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez predicted, during a visit to Jamaica eight years ago, that the PetroCaribe arrangement would save participating countries billions of dollars from crude oil purchases.
Following Chávez's passing yesterday, Dr Wesley Hughes, the newly appointed chief executive officer of the PetroCaribe Development Fund, acknowledged that Jamaica has benefited significantly from the arrangement.
KINGSTON, Jamaica - FOREIGN AFFAIRS and Foreign Trade Minister Senator A.J. Nicholson yesterday said that if the late Hugo Chávez's United Socialist Party wins in another national election "we would dare to hope that the PetroCaribe and other projects would continue." In an interview on Radio Jamaica yesterday, Nicholson sought to allay fears regarding the PetroCaribe deal, noting that Venezuelan Vice-President Nicholas Maduro had made a promise "not so long ago" that the entire agreement would be extended. He noted that there were many other spin-off projects from the agreement.
KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC - There are no reports of fatalities in the aftermath of an accident in Cuba which involved Caribbean nationals on Saturday.
According to a release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs here, the accident that took place close to the town Santa Clara, involved several Caribbean students studying in Havana, who were on their way to Camaguey for an Independence activity for Grenada.
WASHINGTON, CMC – The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) is heaping praise on a project in Jamaica that is providing new ways the transfer of cash to poor families in exchange for meeting certain conditions such as sending their children to school. The IDB said for more than two decades, several Latin American and Caribbean countries have transferred cash to poor families under the programme that has mproved the lives of millions of poor families.
KINGSTON, Jamaica - A meritocracy exists where selection and promotion of people is based on merit, more specifically, their qualifications and performance. Regrettably, there's a deficit of meritocracy in the Caribbean.
In the national political arena, selection is based on political party affiliation, amount of money donated, race, class and gender. Civil servants are mostly promoted by seniority. Longevity and patience are more important than competence and performance.
KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – The lead attorney for the Barbados government, Queen Counsel Roger Forde, will continue his cross examination of Jamaican Shanique Myrie on Tuesday as the Trinidad-based Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) continues its first ever sitting here in the case in which the Jamaican national has sued Barbados.
KINGSTON, Jamaica - THOSE of us in the Caribbean journalism profession who have long come to appreciate the excellent, almost reverential, ethical standards established by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), would always share the disappointment and sense of hurt whenever colleagues of this internationally renowned media institution fall victim to improper behaviour and activities.
KINGSTON, Jamaica - Workers employed at the Antigua Public Utilities Authority (APUA) stayed away from their jobs on Friday protesting the decision of the utility company to hire a 65 year-old Trinidadian as a manager.
The Antigua and Barbuda Workers Union (ABWU) said that the company had replaced electricity manager Lyndon Francis with the un-named Trinidadian and that at least 100 workers had decided to stay off the job.
KINGSTON, Jamaica - The Bank of Jamaica posted on its website February 15 an IMF press release with the caption, 'IMF and Jamaica authorities reach staff-level agreement on key elements of the EFF-Supported programme'. This is the first of two steps in the approval process; the other is approval by the IMF board that should take place by the end of March. This means that Jamaica will be able to draw down U$750m, 175 per cent of the amount to which it is entitled. It also means that Jamaica will be able to receive loans and grants from other multilateral and bilateral sources.