Archives for Thursday, December 2, 2004:

Cruise and cargo shipping agents concerned over new port rates in Antigua

ST. JOHN'S, Antigua: Ministry of Tourism officials in Antigua and Barbuda are reportedly looking for a way out from an earlier decision to impose new charges at the country's main seaport effective December 15.  Insiders at the Tourism Department said the move is designed to stave off a serious backlash by cruise and cargo lines... read more...

Gun battle erupts as Powell visits Haiti

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AFP): An intense gun battle broke out Wednesday just outside Haiti's presidential palace, injuring four people as US Secretary of State Colin Powell met with top local officials, authorities said.  Shots could be heard inside the sprawling white palace where Powell was meeting with interim prime minister Gerard Latortue... read more...

Cubans suggest dissident should leave

MIAMI, USA (UPI): One of five Cuban dissidents who have been released from prison this week has been told he should consider leaving the country.  The Miami Herald reported Wednesday that writer Raul Rivero was told he had a year to make the decision and the implication was that if he decides to stay he will go back to prison... read more...

Vincentians abroad want presidential system in St Vincent and the Grenadines

KINGSTOWN, ST Vincent: Vincentians living in the Diaspora would like to see the monarchical system of government replaced by the presidential system in St. Vincent and the Grenadines...  read more...

Barbados’ independence is hailed in Washington DC with art exhibition and reception

WASHINGTON, USA: Barbados’ 38th anniversary of independence was the toast of the town in Washington Tuesday evening, with an art exhibition and reception at the Organization of American States’ (OAS) headquarters celebrating the Caribbean nation’s important political milestone, which fell on November 30... read more...

National consultation on Grenada’s reconstruction process

ST GEORGE’S, Grenada: The Government of Grenada, in partnership with the Agency for Reconstruction and Development, the National Council for Reconstruction and Development and the United Nations Development Programme, has organized a national consultation to build consensus on the way forward for Grenada...  read more...

Grenada PM celebrates twenty years of parliamentary service

ST GEORGE’S, Grenada: Friday, December 3 marks a significant milestone in the history of democratic Grenada and the parliamentary career of Prime Minister, Dr Keith Mitchell.  On that day, 20 years ago, the citizens of Grenada were afforded the opportunity to elect a new Government through the ballot box... read more...

BVI Constitutional Review Commission seeks wider input

ROAD TOWN, BVI: The Constitutional Review Commission has planned two more key meetings as part of the ongoing process to review the British Virgin Islands constitution...  read more...

BVI London office launches website

ROAD TOWN, BVI: Interim Director of the British Virgin Islands London Office, Mrs. Lorna Smith, announced last week that the Office is making significant progress on behalf of the British Virgin Islands, and has now formally launched its website... read more...

China-Caribbean Trade Forum set for Jamaica

NASSAU, The Bahamas: Bahamian Minister of Trade and Industry, Leslie Miller will head a delegation to Jamaica in February 2005, for the China-Caribbean Economic and Trade Cooperation Forum aimed at further development of regional economies...  read more...

Jamaican authorities called upon to reject call to prosecute rights defenders

NEW YORK, USA: Jamaican authorities should reject a police demand to press criminal charges against local human rights defenders who have criticized police abuses against gay men and people living with HIV/AIDS, Human Rights Watch said Wednesday in a letter to the Jamaican prime minister... read more...

CCJ will mark end to links with Jamaica’s colonial past

KINGSTON, Jamaica: Former Attorney General of Jamaica, David Coore has said that the pending establishment of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), would mark an end to Jamaica’s institutional linkage to its colonial past, and signalled the beginning of a new phase in the regional integration process...  read more...

COMMENTARY

Powell returns to Haiti to witness some of the damage that his policies have wrought

On Wednesday, Secretary of State Colin Powell made a one day visit to Haiti, a suffering country in which he has been intimately involved in several key moments of its history, usually to Haiti’s great loss... read more...

The poor subsidise development

Caribbean and Latin American countries are quite familiar with the momentum gained by migrations over the last twenty years. The crisis of the eighties increased not only the number of migrations but the trend as well...  read more...

HEALTH NEWS

World AIDS Day activities for BVI

ROAD TOWN, BVI: World AIDS Day is being observed today Wednesday in the British Virgin Islands, under the theme, "Women, Girls and HIV and AIDS." The Gender Affairs division is spearheading commemoration activities in the BVI...  read more...

Education is the key in the fight against AIDS says St Kitts-Nevis minister

BASSETERRE, St. Kitts: Speaking in a statement to mark the observance of World Aids Day, St. Kitts and Nevis Health Minister Rupert Herbert is of the view that the fight against the killer disease AIDS, can be won with education, something that is extremely vital in reducing the stigma and discrimination... read more...

TECHNOLOGY NEWS

Cable & Wireless helping the Caribbean bring the Internet home with its new "Max" Internet Solution

SUNNYVALE, USA: Building on the launch of the Personal Internet Communicator (PIC) in October 2004, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) announced Wednesday that Cable & Wireless will be offering the PIC to residents of the Caribbean...  read more...

Butterfield Bank signs deal for ATM software

DUBLIN, Ireland: CR2, a global provider of channel and Internet banking, ATM and card payment software solutions, has announced that Cayman Islands-based Butterfield Bank has selected its BankWorld ATM solution for the management of Butterfield’s ATM network, according to a news release... read more...

SPORTS NEWS

Up close with Jamaica’s Glen Johnson

LOS ANGELES, USA: As far as boxing goes, Glen Johnson’s rise to the elite level of the light heavyweight division was the ‘feel good’ story of 2004, and one that he carries with him as he prepares for another big challenge, a December 18 superfight with Antonio Tarver at Los Angeles STAPLES Center... read more...

WEATHER

Tropical storm Otto forms in Atlantic

MIAMI, USA (UPI): Tropical storm Otto formed in the Atlantic on the last day of the hurricane season, but its 50 mph winds pose no threat to land, forecasters said Wednesday.  After nearly two months without any significant storm activity, Otto developed Tuesday night over the central north Atlantic, forecasters said... read more...