News

Trinidad Secures $235 Million IDB Loan for Budget Measures

IDB Loans Jamaica $90M for Energy

Above: the wind farm at Wigton in Jamaica The Inter-American Development will be loaning $90 million to Jamaica to improve energy efficiency, according to Energy Minister Clive Mullings. “We need to look, in a sustained way, on how we can …

Guyana Has Caribbean’s Most Female Parliamentarians: UN Report

Above, from left: Guyanese MPs Amna Ally, Judith David-Blair and Deborah Backer By the Caribbean Journal staff Approximately 30 percent of Guyanese parliamentarians are women, the highest rate of female political involvement in CARICOM, according to data from the United …

Term Limits for OECS Officials?

Above: the Antiguan Parliament Antiguan Sen. Joanne Massiah told her country’s Upper House this week that term limits should be compulsory for those appointed to head the OECS and other regional institutions. The senator, who is a member of the …

Trinidad Holding Energy Talks in London

Above: Trinidad PM Kamla Persad Bissessar (TGISL) and BP CEO Robert Dudley (© BP p.l.c) By the Caribbean Journal staff Trinidad Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar is holding separate meetings today in London with the CEO of BP, Robert Dudley and …

Jamaica “Steadfast” in Resolving IMF Issues, Government Says

Above: IMF headquarters in Washington, DC The Jamaican government will remain steadfast in resolving the main issues in its discussions with the International Monetary Fund, Information Minister Sen. Arthur Williams said Wednesday. The government is working to address tax reform, …

Trinidad Leads Caribbean in Gender Equality: United Nations Report

Above: Trinidad Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar (Photo: TGISL) By the Caribbean Journal staff Trinidad has the highest rating the Caribbean for gender equality, according to data from the United Nations Development Programme’s latest report. Trinidad has an index of 0.331, …

Barbados Has Caribbean’s Highest Human Development Index: UN

Barbados has the highest Human Development Index of any CARICOM country, according to the latest data from the United Nations Development Programme. Barbados has an index of 0.793, which is 47th in the world, just after Croatia and ahead of …

New Antigua Airport Terminal Breaks Ground, With Help from China

Above: a rendering of the new VC Bird Airport Terminal By the Caribbean Journal staff Antigua broke ground yesterday on a new airport terminal at the country’s VC Bird International Airport, a project that will begin construction next month and …

Bahamian Coconuts Get Jamaican Help

Above: Jamaican coconut expert Dr Wayne Myrie inspects a section of Greg Stuart’s stock in North Eleuthera. From left: BAIC GM Benjamin Rahming, Myrie, Edison Key and Arnold Dorsett (BIS Photo/Gladstone Thurston) By the Caribbean Journal staff The Bahamian government …

Jamaican MP Warmington Wants Extension of Voting Hours

Above: Warmington with Spanish Town Mayor Andrew Wheatley (JIS Photo) Everald Warmington, Jamaica’s Member of Parliament for South West St Catherine, is recommending that voting times at polling stations be extended by two hours. Warmington was opening the debate on …

Jamaica Looks at Golf to Boost Tourism

Above: the Ritz-Carlton Half Moon Bay Jamaica believes golf has the potential to help position the country as a sports tourism destination, according to Sports Minister Olivia Grange. “I believe that we have a competitive advantage in golf,” she said, …

Grenada, Germany Sign Climate Deal

By the Caribbean Journal staff Grenadian Environment Minister Joseph Gilbert signed a $6.89 million “concept agreement” for projects in climate change with the German government. The aims of the new programme are to deliver funds to local communities in Grenada …

Trinidad “Ready” to Aid Africa on Energy

By the Caribbean Journal staff Trinidad and Tobago stands ray to assist Africa in the development of its oil and gas industries, Trinidad Energy Minister Kevin Ramnarine said in a speech at the Commonwealth Business Forum in Perth, Australia. Trinidad …

S&P Explains Bahamas Downgrade

Above: downtown Nassau (Photo: CJ) By Alexander Britell On Monday, ratings firm Standard & Poor’s announced it had lowered the Bahamas’ sovereign credit rating from BBB+/A-2 to BBB/A-3, citing a heavier weight its new sovereign credit rating criteria places on …

Barbados Has Caribbean’s Highest Life Expectancy: United Nations Report

Above: Harrismith Beach in Barbados (Photo: Barbados Tourism) By the Caribbean Journal staff Barbados has the highest life expectancy in CARICOM, according to a report released by the United Nations Population Fund. The report, “State of World Population 2012,” was …

Antiguan to Lead UN Budget Talks

By the Caribbean Journal staff Ambassador Conrod Hunte, Antigua and Barbuda’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations, has been appointed the chair of the United Nations budget negotiations in the Fifth Committee. Hunte will oversee budget talks for the …

IDB to Increase Caribbean Funding

Above: IDB headquarters in Washington, DC The Caribbean will see a nearly $5 billion jump in annual financing from the Inter-American Development Bank. Funding for the region has moved from $7 billion to $12 billion. According to Ancile Brewster, the …

UN Helps Haitian Police in Crime Fight

Above: peacekeepers on patrol in Haiti (UN Photo) By the Caribbean Journal staff Haitian police and United Nations Peacekeepers have completed a four-day joint operation targeting criminals in two neighbourhoods of Port-au-Prince. Operation Hope, which ended on Friday, aimed at …