Year: 2013

  • Region to benefit from new UN framework for HIV-AIDS anti-retroviral treatment

    UNITED NATIONS, CMC – The United Nations says the Caribbean will be among several countries to benefit from a new framework that seeks to give 15 million people with HIV/AIDS access to anti-retroviral treatment by the year 2015. In launching the new framework, Treatment 2015, on Saturday, the UN said it offers countries and partners “practical and innovative ways to…

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  • http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/business/In-Caribbean—push-to-create-no-take-reserves#ixzz2Z7X9hhJl

    KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – The Pan–Afrikan Reparations Coalition of Europe (PARCOE) has voiced concern about the approach being taken by the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) in establishing National Reparations Committees. At the recently concluded CARICOM Heads of Government Conference in Trinidad, the leaders agreed to set up national reparations committees in each of the 15 member states as a first step…

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  • In Caribbean, push to create no-take reserves

    BLUEFIELDS BAY, Jamaica – YOUNG fish leap in the wake of a warden’s patrol boat as it motors through waters off Jamaica’s southwest coast that are a brilliant palette of blues. Beneath the surface, reefs bristle with spiny lobsters, and rainbowcoloured parrotfish graze on algae and seaweed. After rampant destruction of local fish habitats over decades, marine life is gradually…

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  • Learn from the misfortune of others

    BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – SOME of the comments made following the passage of Tropical Storm Chantal were disturbing, to say the least. That system, which passed about 45 miles north of Barbados last Tuesday, did not do any damage to the island and most Barbadians were relieved that we were spared once again from the adverse weather conditions. But there were…

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  • We must all be prepared for a storm

    BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – When disaster hits in the Caribbean, Barbadians take pride in reaching out to help. Still, we do not seem to understand that the disasters which have left a path of destruction across the Caribbean can also happen here. Just reflect on David in Dominica in 1979, Gilbert in Jamaica in 1988 and Ivan in Grenada in 2004.…

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  • Vocational training key to future of decent work in the region

    BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – Strengthening training strategies will be the key to meeting the challenges in the labour market in the Caribbean region. This came out of the ILO American Centre for Knowledge Development in Vocational Training (ILO-CINTERFOR) meeting held in Trinidad last week, where 65 vocational institutions from 27 countries attended. Elizabeth Tinoco, ILO Regional Director for Latin America and…

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  • T&T needs good neighbour policy

    PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad – Venezuela, now in international headlines as a likely asylum home for US espionage fugitive Edward Snowden, is also worthy of heightened attention in bilateral relations with Trinidad and Tobago. As he registered his presence in T&T during this month’s CARICOM talks, Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro followed a trail blazed by US Vice President Joe Biden…

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  • Toward a New Venezuela-Caribbean relationship

    KINGSTON, Jamaica – SINCE 2005 when the late president of Venezuela Hugo Chavez introduced the PetroCaribe initiative, several Caribbean governments have enjoyed a vital lifeline. But the time may have come to review the scope and expectations of the PetroCaribe relationship in the interest of the beneficiary Caribbean countries and Venezuela itself. Under PetroCaribe, the beneficiary countries have been allowed…

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  • Transparency’s barometer: Caribbean under pressure?

    PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad – Corruption: it’s the big story in the Caribbean. Only here? In one view, it’s a universal problem; we should pay up quietly, tolerate a world of overpriced contracts, runaway crime and substandard services. In another, it’s controllable. Sweden is cleaner than Serbia. Democracy allows aware voters to keep bad stuff in check. Transparency International last…

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  • Clash over CARICOM – Let’s take a break!

    KINGSTON, Jamaica – The following is an edited version of a speech delivered to the Lions Club of Kingston recently. Many Jamaicans are still uncertain as to the net benefits of our membership of CARICOM. The primary concern has been our trading relations with Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) within this free-trade framework. The Jamaica-T&T trade issue has been caught up…

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