Caribbean News Round-up

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Caribbean exports decreased in first half 20145 – Study

fresh-tropical-fruit[Jamaica Observer] – A new study conducted by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) says exports of Latin American and Caribbean goods fell 10.9 per cent in the first half of 2015 compared to the same period in 2014.

The study, Trade and Integration Monitor 2015, noted that it is the “steepest drop” since the 2009 trade collapse.

The IDB’s said that the contraction in exports, which had begun in mid-2014, has worsened this year as a result of a substantial decline in China’s demand and steep reductions averaging 37.1 per cent in the prices of commodities between June 2014 and June 2015.

The drop in the region’s exports also reflects the overall contraction in global trade, according to the study, presented in San José, Costa Rica at a seminar organised by the IDB and INCAE Business School.

“The favourable conditions that fuelled the region’s exports over the last decade have waned, and so it is crucial to diversify our exports through the implementation of trade promotion policies as well as policies to make use of trade agreements and enhance productivity,” said Paolo Giordano, Principal Economist of the IDB’s Integration and Trade Sector, and coordinator of the report.

Giordano said that, in 2014, the region’s exports had dropped by 2.8 per cent, adding that, in the first half of 2015, “numbers deteriorated further”.

The IDB said the South American countries were the most affected (-17.7 per cent) due to a fall in the price of raw materials and a shrinking regional manufacturing market.

The Caribbean countries (-14.9 per cent) experienced this deterioration in a context of overall economic vulnerability, the IDB said.

The report analyses the region’s overall economic situation, characterised by greater exchange rate volatility and prospects of higher international financing costs, and underlines the urgent need to implement public policies aimed at promoting trade diversification.

The report compiles the most recent statistics, analyses the trade performance of the region, and includes a chapter on the evolution of export diversification over the last decade.

The analysis is based on the indicators provided by INTrade, the IDB’s trade and integration database.

 

Lawyers represented murdered man for two years: claimed didn’t know he had been killed

Capture[Trinidad Express] – ATTORNEYS Gerald Ramdeen and Varun Debideen represented a client in court for two years even though he was dead.

The attorneys claim they did not know their client was dead.

This has led to a war of words between attorneys seeking the interest of the State and Ramdeen.

Ramdeen, who is currently under police investigation in the Prisongate affair, in a letter dated October 14, 2015, addressed to Savitri Bedassie—judicial support officer to Justice Ronnie Boodoosingh, took offence to the media coverage of a case in which his ethical conduct and that of his colleague Varun Debideen was called into question by State attorneys Randall Hector and Nisa Simmons.

 

RSS Leaves Dominica a month after TS Erika

dominica-300x250[Caribbean Medical News] – Minister for National Security, Rayburn Blackmoore has expressed gratitude to the Regional Security System for what he considers to be remarkable assistance to Dominica in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Erika.

The Regional Security System is an organisation comprised both military and police personnel which works to preserve the stability and well-being of member states.

On Wednesday September 30th, a closing ceremony was held for the team as they prepared to leave the shores of Dominica.

“Search and rescue and the maintenance of law and order are critical. Because of our challenges at the time with our local law enforcement agency, we thought that we needed additional help and in quick time, we had 83 members of the respective forces of the RSS including police and defence force in Dominica,” said Minister Blackmoore.

 

He added that in addition to search and rescue, security services were also provided at various sites which were compromised by Tropical Storm Erika. Blackmoore also recognized their outstanding execution of search and rescue missions especially in the community of Petite Savanne.

He says the RSS evacuated hundreds of persons from that community without incident.

The Barbados Coast Guard also provided exceptional service to Dominica. The team was also thanked for their exceptional services. They too left the island on Wednesday.

Havana denies talk of Cuban troops in Syria

[AFP] — A senior official in Havana on Saturday “categorically” denied reports that Cuban troops were in Syria supporting the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.

Talk of up to 300 Cuban soldiers sent to Syria originated in the Fox News network on Wednesday, citing an unnamed US official as source.

The Fox story also mentioned that the University of Miami’s Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies learned that the head of the Cuban armed forces visited Syria with a military team to support the Assad regime.

The story has appeared in media outlets across the Middle East, although State Department spokesman John Kirby said Thursday that the report could not be verified.

On Saturday Gerardo Penalver Portal, the head of bilateral affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said in a brief statement that Cuba “refutes and categorically denies the irresponsible and unfounded information on the alleged presence of Cuban troops in Syria, which some media have echoed.”

Cuba has friendly relations with Russia and Iran, two of the countries supporting Assad, and has had cordial relations with Syria for decades.

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1 COMMENT

  1. Fox news,a RIGHT WING backer of the Republicans, would always find wicked, false and gutter news items to incite and inflame sensitive situations intent on creating political mischief. That’s the power of the American television masquerading as freedom of expression

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