PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad - AS I write this Nelson Mandela is still with us. He may even still be living at the end of this year. But this is his fourth hospitalisation in six months, and the prognosis for 94-year-old men with persistent lung infections is not good. How will South Africa do without him? Wrong question, actually. In practice, South Africa has been doing without him for more than a decade already—but psychologically, it is just now getting to grips with the reality that he will soon be gone entirely.

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad - Attorney General Anand Ramlogan has temporarily relinquished his responsibilities for the Central Authority, paving the way for the police investigating the e-mail matter to seek foreign assistance if they need it. Sources said yesterday that Ramlogan wrote to the head of the Central Authority, Netram Kowlessar, last month recusing himself from all duties and responsibilities affiliated with the investigation of the 31 e-mails raised by Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley in Parliament, and delegated all responsibilities to Kowlessar.

ST. JOHN’S, Antigua, CMC – The main opposition Antigua Labour Party (ALP) has criticised proposals by two prime ministers from the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) that the aviation industry should be deemed an essential service. Earlier this month, Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer and his St. Vincent and the Grenadines colleague, Dr. Ralph Gonsalves supported a statement by Ian Brunton, the chief executive officer of the regional airline, LIAT, that the aviation industry should also be classified as an essential service, with legislated restricted rights to strike.

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados - BARBADOS’ TOURISM SECTOR is going in the same direction as the poorly-performing sugar industry that was once a major foreign exchange earner. And while the Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association (BHTA) and other private sector bodies have repeatedly identified the issues facing the industry and the economy, Government has been “lethargic” in responding to their concerns. This was the assessment of BHTA president Patricia Affonso-Dass yesterday when she gave her report at the association’s annual general meeting at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre.

ST JOHN’S, Antigua- Antiguan and Barbudan artistes and entertainers should take advantage of the Caricom Skills Certificate or be left behind as their regional counterparts move freely between territories. That was the view of Special Events Director in the Department of Culture, Gilbert Laudat. “At the end of the day it helps. Persons are going to come from elsewhere with the certificate and get a job in Antigua and because the Antiguan doesn’t have one, they can’t travel anywhere to get a job,” he said.