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China’s Hu Visits Grand Bahama

Jamaica to Expand Tech Sector

Jamaica’s government announced a plan to expand the country’s information and communications technology sector, along with its business process outsourcing industry, according to Industry, Investment and Commerce Minister Dr Christopher Tufton. “It is our position, as a government, that the …

St Lucia Escapes Major Storm Damage

By the Caribbean Journal staff Preliminary assessments show St Lucia was not severely impacted by the inclement weather associated with Tropical Storm Emily. While some homes and personal property were damaged in flooding, Prime Minister Stephenson King said he was …

Interview with Jamaican Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett

By Alexander Britell As the Caribbean’s integral tourism industry has been hurt by the global financial downturn, countries in the region have been forced to looked to new markets and devise new initiatives to spur both new visitors and new …

Baha Mar Signs Morgans, Hyatt, Rosewood

By the Caribbean Journal staff The massive Baha Mar resort project in Nassau has signed agreements with Hyatt Hotels, Rosewood and the Morgans Hotel Group to manage hotels at the project. Hyatt will manage the planned 700-room Grand Hyatt convention …

Cuban Biomedical Team in Jamaica

The first members of a Cuban biomedical engineering team are in Jamaica to restore medical equipment in the public health system. The biomedical agreement between Jamaica and Cuba will last for two years and cost $350,000, according to Health Minister …

How the Caribbean Airlines Crash Could Hurt Guyana’s Agriculture

Above: Minister of Agriculture Robert Persaud (GIS Photo) The recent crash of a Caribbean Airlines flight at Guyana’s Cheddi Jagan International Airpot could disrupt the Guyana Ministry of Agriculture’s plan to increase the size of its agriculture exports shipped by …

Report: Cayman Economy Trending Up

By the Caribbean Journal staff The Cayman Islands’ economy is trending upwards, with positive growth of 1.2 percent in the first quarter of 2011, according to a report from the government’s Economics and Statistics Office released Friday. The growth represented …

Bahamas Keeps Up Infrastructure Push

Above: The massive road works project in New Providence (File Photo/BIS) The Bahamas is continuing its infrastructure push beyond New Providence with the announcement of $3.5 million in construction contracts to make upgrades in Abaco. The government signed three contracts, …

Clinton Bush Grant for Haiti Microfinance

(Photo: Clinton Bush Haiti Fund) By the Caribbean Journal staff The Clinton Bush Haiti Fund has granted $850,000 to Fonds Haitien d’Aide a la Femme, a microfinance institution created and led by women. The grant will help hire and train …

OLINT Investors Await Smith Sentencing

Above: Federal District Court in Orlando, Fla. By Robert Di Pano David Smith, the mastermind behind the Caribbean-based Olint Ponzi Scheme that bilked investors out of over $220 million, will be sentenced Aug. 11 in United States District Court in …

Trinidad PM Leads Team to Guyana

Above: Trinidad Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar (Photo: TIS) By the Caribbean Journal staff Trinidad Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar led a team to Guyana Saturday to look at the Caribbean Airlines flight that crashed at Guyana’s Cheddi Jagan International Airport Saturday …

Beenie Man Regains United States Visa

By the Caribbean Journal staff Jamaican reggae star Beenie Man has regained his United States visa, he announced today in a release. According to a spokesperson, Beenie Man, whose real name is Moses David, said he re-affirmed his “commitment to …

UN: Politics, Aid Challenges Hurt Haiti

Above: debris-clearing in Haiti (UN Photo) By the Caribbean Journal staff While Haiti has seen improvements, aid coordination in the country remains a challenge, and the inability of Haiti’s political leaders to form a government has presented a challenge, according …

CARICOM: More UN Presence in Region

Above: UN peacekeepers in Haiti (UN Photo/Logan Abassi) CARICOM has expressed concern over what it sees as a decrease in United Nations representation int he Caribbean. Ambassador Lolita Applewhaite, the acting secretary-general, called for a stronger UN presence in the …

IMF: St Kitts and Nevis Showing Recovery

Above: St Kitts viewed from Nevis (CJ Photo) By the Caribbean Journal staff The International Monetary Fund has approved a three-year Stand-By Arrangement for $84.5 million with St Kitts and Nevis, in a bid to support the federation’s economic program …

In Jamaica, a Row over Scrap Metal

Above: From left: Industry, Investment and Commerce State Minister, Hon. Michael Stern and Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Dr Christopher Tufton (right), at his New Kingston offices, Tuesday. (JIS Photo) By the Caribbean Journal staff A controversy is growing …

Trinidad, OAS Sign Security Agreements

Above: Trinidad Minister of National Security John Sandy at Chaguaramas in February (Photo: TIS) By the Caribbean Journal staff The government of Trinidad signed two cooperation agreements yesterday with the Organization of American States to strengthen information on public security …

Regional Health Agency Moves Forward

Above: Dr Leslie Ramsammy (UN Photo) By the Caribbean Journal staff The newly-formed Caribbean Regional Public Health Agency is moving ahead after its legal establishment at the Heads of Government Meeting in Basseterre, St Kitts and Nevis at the beginning …