Archives for Friday, December 31, 2004:

China belatedly acknowledges visit by Grenada PM

BEIJING, China (AFP): Prime Minister Keith Mitchell of Grenada, which currently recognises Taiwan, has visited Beijing, the Chinese foreign ministry announced, somewhat belatedly, on Thursday, signalling Taipei might lose another of its allies... read more...

CSME compliance ceremony now set for February

GEORGETOWN, Guyana: Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Heads of Government and the CARICOM Secretariat have agreed on a new date and location for the ceremony to mark CARICOM Single Market compliance by three Member States - Barbados, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago... read more...

Cuba moves to clamp down on hard currency control after oil find

HAVANA, Cuba (AFP): Cuba on Thursday made a surprise move to tighten the government's grip on hard currency, on the heels of an oil find that breathes new life into President Fidel Castro's communist rule... read more...

American fined for smuggling illegal immigrants into BVI

ROAD TOWN, BVI: An American was fined $1,000 on Wednesday for attempting to smuggle two illegal immigrants in to the British Virgin Islands on Sunday, December 26... read more...

UN peacekeepers improve security in Haiti

UNITED NATIONS: Security, one of the main concerns of the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Haiti, has greatly improved in the Caribbean nation, allowing UN teams to work with their Haitian counterparts on such pressing civil issues as the HIV/AIDS pandemic, a mission spokesman said... read more...

Jamaican Government looking at regional tsunami warning system

KINGSTON, Jamaica: Jamaican Land and Environment Minister, Dean Peart convened a meeting on Wednesday with technical officials within the Ministry and its affiliate agencies to discuss the establishment of a tsunami warning system for the Caribbean.  Among agencies represented at the meeting were the National Meteorological Office... read more...

BUSINESS NEWS

Cayman General Insurance rating downgraded following Hurricane Ivan

OLDWICK, USA: According to a press release issued on Thursday, A.M. Best Co. has downgraded the financial strength rating to B- (Fair) from A- (Excellent) of Cayman General Insurance Company Limited. The rating remains under review with negative implications... read more...

COMMENTARY

Law and Politics: Losing a true friend and gaining what?

Man cannot live by bread alone, nor can he live on prayer alone. It is a combination of the two necessities of life, that will sustain us and help us make or achieve the progress and development we all are aiming at and striving for.  As we go through life trying to make ends meet, we have to understand that this life is not a bed of roses... read more...

'Butch' deplanes graciously, leaving Air Jamaica in state hands

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados: As Americans battled over politically correct ways of celebrating the Christmas season, a top regional entrepreneur withdrew from the leadership of the Caribbean’s leading air carrier... read more...