Archives for Monday, March 14, 2005:

US to sever ties with Suriname if former dictator becomes president

PARAMARIBO, Suriname: The United States has warned that if former Surinamese dictator Desi Bouterse is elected as president in Suriname, the Bush administration will sever all ties with this CARICOM member state.  Bouterse’s National Democratic Party announced that their leader would become the next president if the party wins the elections... read more...

West Indies keep Lara in the cold

ST JOHN'S, Antigua (AFP): West Indies skipper Brian Lara and six of his teammates will remain frozen out of the squad to face South Africa and Pakistan after the latest moves to solve the long-running contract crisis failed on Saturday... read more...  

Concern over nurses from the Philippines working in Trinidad and Tobago

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad: Nursing in Trinidad and Tobago will get a much needed boost with the arrival of forty nurses from the Philippines some five days ago.  However, the choice of the Philippines nurses over those from Cuba and other Caribbean countries is raising eyebrows.  Another 60 nurses will be coming to work in Trinidad and Tobago... read more...

Former Deputy Speaker sentenced to 5 years in Antigua

ST JOHN'S, Antigua: Sherfield Bowen, a former Antigua Labour Party Parliamentarian and Deputy Speaker in the Antigua and Barbuda House of Representatives, who also served as a consultant within the ruling United Progressive Party administration, was on Friday sentenced to 5 years in jail having been found guilty of manslaughter... read more...

Correction bureau officers arrested on drug charges in St Thomas 

CHRISTIANSTEAD, USVI: Police on St. Croix in the US Virgin Islands on Friday arrested two Corrections Bureau officers on drug charges as efforts by the government are being stepped up to clean the Golden Grove Adult Correctional Facility of alleged criminal activity... read more...

US warns citizens on travel to Haiti

WASHINGTON, USA (AFP): The US State Department on Friday warned US citizens about the dangers of travel to Haiti due to its "volatile" security... read more...

Jamaican and Trinidad oil companies sign marketing contract

KINGSTON, Jamaica: The Petroleum Company of Jamaica Limited (PETCOM), and the National Petroleum Marketing Company of Trinidad and Tobago (NPMC) have signed a three-year contract, which will result in PETCOM once more distributing and marketing oils and lubricants for the Trinidadian entity... read more...

Antigua-Barbuda discusses Information Technology assistance with India

ST. JOHN'S, Antigua: Information technology and IT management were the key areas of discussion between the government of Antigua and Barbuda and the Indian High Commissioner Avinash C. Gupta when he made an official visit to the Office of the Prime Minister on Friday..... read more...

Barbados government reviewing fuel pricing policy

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados: Increasing world oil prices are putting pressure on the Barbados National Terminal Company Limited (BNTCL) – the company which supplies Barbadians with fuel – and the government has put the public on alert that the price they are now paying for petroleum products will have to be reviewed... read more...

CMEx gives life to Caribbean media group

PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad: Wesley Gibbings, the President of the Association of Caribbean Media Workers (ACM), has credited Counterpart International's Caribbean Media Exchange on Sustainable Tourism (CMEx), for contributing towards a rich and vibrant association of media practitioners across the Caribbean and its Diaspora... read more...

Walter Rodney remembered in commemorating conference

GEORGE TOWN, Grand Cayman: The University of Guyana in collaboration with the Faculty of Humanities and Education, The University of the West Indies, St Augustine, Trinidad will be holding a Conference entitled "Commemorating the 25th Anniversary of Walter Rodney's Death" in Georgetown, Guyana on the 10-12th August this year... read more...

New FAO representative for the region

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados: Several issues relating to the regional agricultural sector were discussed recently when newly appointed Sub-Regional Representative for the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), Barbara Graham, called on Senior Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Dame Billie Miller, in Barbados... read more...

Anti-Castro group seeks meeting with dissidents in Cuba

MIAMI, USA (AFP): An influential Cuban-American lobbying group said Friday it wants its leaders to travel to Cuba for a meeting with dissidents, reversing its longstanding refusal to travel to the communist-run island... read more...

European Commission tells Caribbean countries to stop stalling

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados: With no more than just over a year before the first phase of the European Union sugar price cuts is introduced, a European Commission official says Caribbean leaders need to stop stalling and get ready for the new regime... read more...

Human rights and Cuba-EU ties under spotlight in Cuban foreign minister's visit

MADRID, Spain (AFP): Human rights questions and Cuba's links with the European Union will feature in talks starting here Monday by Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque in a more relaxed atmosphere between Spain and Cuba after a time of tension... read more...

WEEKEND SPORTS ROUNDUP

Carib Beer Cricket Series 10th round summary - Day 2

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad:  West Indies left-hand batsman Ryan Hinds became the fourth centurion in the 10th and final round matches in the Carib Beer 2005 Cricket Series on Saturday.  Hinds hit 113-runs to help the visiting Barbados team score 303 all out in their first innings against Trinidad & Tobago at Queen's Park Oval... read more...

Trinidad-born Kerron Clement sets 400m world indoor record

FAYETTEVILLE, USA:  Trinidad and Tobago-born Kerron Clement erased Michael Johnson's 10 year-old 400-metres indoor world record when he clocked 44.57 to highlight the second and final day of the NCAA Indoor Championships on Saturday.  Johnson's record looked threatened after Clement flashed past the 200m mark... read more...

Jamaica's Ricardo Gardener and his Bolton team exit FA Cup

BOLTON, England:  Bolton Wanderers and their Jamaican international Ricardo Gardener suffered a frustrating exit from the English FA Cup with a 1-0 defeat to Arsenal at the Reebok Stadium on Saturday... read more...

Jamaica under-21 netballers level series against Australia

KINGSTON, Jamaica - Picking up from where she left off in the final quarter of the first game, goal-shooter Romelda Aitken inspired Jamaica's Under-21 netballers to a 49-46 win over their Australian counterparts at the National Indoor Sports Centre in Kingston on Saturday to level the series at 1-1... read more...

Caribbean athletes shine at NCAA Division I Indoor Championships - Day 1

FAYETTEVILLE, USA: On the opening day of competition at the NCAA Division I Indoor Championships on Friday, a number of Caribbean athletes produced sizzling performances to earn All-American honours. After clocking 23.35sec in her heat, Trinidad and Tobago's Fana Ashby broke her national record to win section one of the two final races... read more...

Sydney FC continue its pursuit of Trinidad's Dwight Yorke

SYDNEY, Australia: Australia's Hyundai A-League team Sydney Football Club is still hunting the signature of Trinidad and Tobago's striker Dwight Yorke.  Yorke, a former Manchester United stand-out now plays for English Premier League Club Birmingham City. Personal terms between all parties have still not settled... read more...

Jamaica names Carifta Games team

KINGSTON, Jamaica: The Jamaica Amateur Athletics Association (JAAA) has named a 70-member team to defend its Carifta Games title in Trinidad & Tobago from March 26-28... read more...

Carib Beer Cricket Series 10th round summary - Day 1

ESSEQUIBO, Guyana:  West Indies batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul hit his second consecutive hundred to help Guyana post a respectable score on day one of their final round Carib Beer Series game against the Leeward Islands at the Hampton Court ground on Friday.  Chanderpaul and spinner Neil McGarrell added an unbeaten 160... read more...