PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad - THE RECENT virtual back-to-back visits by the USA’s Vice-President Joseph Biden and China’s President Xi Jinping have served to fuel optimism for increased trade and economic investment among Caribbean Community states.
PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti, CMC – Director General of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Pascal Lamy Tuesday urged developing countries to ensure they have the necessary trade capacity to take advantage of a changing global environment. Addressing the launch of the Caribbean Regional Aid for Trade (AFT) Strategy, Lamy said however having trade opportunities is not enough. “We must translate the “trade can” into the “trade has” by ensuring developing countries have built the necessary trade capacity.
PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti, CMC – The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Tuesday launched its Caribbean Regional Aid for Trade (AFT) Strategy with CARICOM Secretary General Irwin La Rocque saying the strategy will play a pivotal role in allowing member countries to maximise the opportunities available under the various bilateral and multilateral trade agreements they have signed in the past.
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados - ALTHOUGH there was no official response from management, it is known the West Indies are upset over the severity of the sentence placed yesterday on wicketkeeper and vice-captain Denesh Ramdin for his appeal for a spilled, tumbling catch off Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq in their opening victory in the Champions Trophy at the Oval last Friday.
Misbah was originally ruled out by standing umpire Steve Davis but his decision was overturned after square-leg umpire Nigel Llong referred to television replays that showed the ball popped out of Ramdin’s gloves.
ROSEAU, Dominica, CMC – Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit has described as “pure mischief” the decision of a radio talk show host to write the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (ECSC) objecting to the appointment of former Grenada government minister as a magistrate in Dominica. Attorney Arley Gill was scheduled to have taken up his appointment earlier this month, even as Attorney General, Levi Peter, speaking on the state-owned DBS radio last week acknowledged there were some matters to be clarified. “I don’t understand why this has not yet been clarified and why the hold-up.
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados - Owning 100 per cent of one apple tree is sadly still more attractive to many local businesses than owning only one per cent of an apple farm containing one million trees. Despite the fact that the latter options provides access to 10 000 trees, “calling the shots” seems to be higher up on the agenda than increasing profitablity through partnerships of various kinds.
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, CMC – The leader of the main opposition People’s Action Movement (PAM), Shawn Richards, has accused the government of “using the armed forces” in an effort to intimidate citizens as he commented on the decision by members of the St Kitts Nevis Defence Force (SKNDF) to march through the streets of the capital on Monday.
The soldiers, dressed in combat fatigue, were commemorating the 46th anniversary of the June 10, 1967 attack by rebels attempting take over Camp Springfield.
CASTRIES, St. Lucia, CMC – Dominica will be the first country within the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) to participate in a national public awareness programme on the OECS Economic Union. OECS Director of Economic Affairs Randy Cato said the public awareness programme is aimed at providing information on the Economic Union to the general public.
KINGSTON, Jamaica - SINCE the present government was ushered into power in the election of 2011 there has been a great deal of hope that an International Monetary Fund agreement was necessary to put the economy on a sustained path for growth. A view I hold to be misguided — despite the importance of the programme. Of most importance is our own growth agenda.
KINGSTON, Jamaica - Dr Peter Phillips must be under tremendous pressure from his Cabinet colleagues over the slide of the Jamaican dollar in relation to the greenback, now at J$100:US$1.
But Dr Phillips and the central bank governor, Mr Brian Wynter, must hold their nerve. In fact, Dr Phillips has pushed back hard, telling his colleagues to accelerate and begin to deliver on projects to stabilise the economy.