United States of America
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Caribbean urged to curb tobacco smoking
WASHINGTON, CMC – Calling tobacco use the deadliest global pandemic ever, a former President of Uruguay has urged decision makers in the Caribbean and Latin America to step up efforts to curb smoking. In making reference to World No Tobacco Day, Tabaré Vázquez, an oncologist by profession, said the war against smoking should not only be waged in doctors’ offices…
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Major credit rating agency says bond restructurings still fail to ignite Caribbean growth
NEW YORK, CMC – A major international credit rating agency says three bond restructurings in the Caribbean this year, totaling about US$9.7 billion, have still failed to ignite economic growth and may not help the region avoid more defaults. Moody’s Investors Service said the bond swaps this year did not go far enough to fixing the Caribbean’s “unsustainable” mix of…
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Brutal talks and the US-Caribbean relationship
KINGSTON, Jamaica – Much media coverage was given to the signing on May 28 in Trinidad of a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) by US Vice-President Joseph Biden and current chairman of the 15-nation Caribbean Community, Haiti's President Michel Martelly. But the TIFA must not be mistaken for what it is not. Although its name sounds grand, it is…
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China, Venezuela winning the PR war
KINGSTON, Jamaica – RECENTLY, United States President Barack Obama visited Mexico and Costa Rica. His last visit to the Caribbean was in April 2009 when he attended the Summit of the Americas in Trinidad. Hilary Clinton, while she was secretary of state, met the leaders of the Caribbean in Montego Bay. This past week, Chinese President XI Jingping met with…
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US Vice President gives assurance WTO matter will soon be resolved
ST JOHN’S, Antigua – US Vice President Joe Biden assured that the 10-year old online gaming dispute between Antigua & Barbuda and the United States is on the desk of President Barack Obama. That report came from Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer who met with Biden at a Caricom meeting in Trinidad this week. “He (Biden) said the matter is on…
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OECD: Europe remains threat to world economy
PARIS—The recession in Europe risks threatening the world’s economic recovery, a leading international body warned yesterday. In its half-yearly update, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) said that protracted economic weakness in Europe “could evolve into stagnation with negative implications for the global economy.” The OECD again slashed its forecast for the 17 European Union countries that use…
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CARIBBEAN-RIGHTS-US claims several Caribbean countries discriminate against Rastafarians, Muslims
WASHINGTON, CMC – The United States says several Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries, including Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, Haiti and the Bahamas, are engaged in discriminatory practices against Rastafarians, voodoo practitioners and Muslims. In its International Religious Freedom Report for 2012, the Department of State says while there were no reports of abuses of religious freedom in Haiti, some members of…
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Human rights group claims prosecution of Caribbean migrants hurting families
WASHINGTON, CMC – A major international human rights group says the skyrocketing criminal prosecutions of Caribbean and other migrants for illegally entering or reentering the United States carry huge human and financial costs. In a report released here on Wednesday, Human Rights Watch said imprisoning migrants with minor or no criminal records before deporting them often affects people seeking to…
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Three held in multi-million dollar cocaine bust in Caribbean Sea
MIAMI, United States (CMC) — United States federal prosecutors have indicted three foreigners in a US$27 million cocaine bust in the Caribbean Sea. They said Beat Jegge of Switzerland and Daniel Velazquez and Julio Claro Alvarez of Colombia were arrested by US Coast Guard officers after their suspicious boat was interdicted somewhere off the Panama coast. Authorities said the men…
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UNITED STATES-IMMIGRATION-US Senate committee approves immigration measure
WASHINGTON, CMC – The United States Senate Judiciary Committee has approved a broad overhaul of the nation’s immigration laws. The bipartisan vote sends the s most significant immigration policy changes in decades to the full Senate for further deliberation. Debate is anticipated to commence there next month. The 13-5 vote approved the measure authored by four Democrats and four Republicans,…
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