Warner’s position questioned
Trinidad’s opposition leader, Keith Rowley, wants the country’s integrity commission to determine whether Jack Warner can serve as a minister while holding a senior post at the world football governing body FIFA.
Warner, who is a FIFA Vice president, is also the new transport and works minister. But Rowley says he plans to write to President Max Richards on the matter.
Warner has said he will scale back his FIFA responsibilities to fulfil his cabinet duties.
Montserrat’s rating improves
International credit ratings agency, Standard & Poor’s, says Montserrat’s economic performance surpassed expectations last year, with economic growth of 3.6% – one of the highest in the Caribbean.
S&P said that the government has also improved relations with the UK and begun to pursue a comprehensive reform stratey, and if implemented, it could strengthen growth prospects over the next three to five years.
As a result S&P has revised the outlook on Montserrat to positive from stable.
Caricom’s oil spill concerns
Caricom member states are concerned that the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico could reach the Bahamas and Jamaica.
Secretary General, Edwin Carrington, says the recent change in wind patterns could push the oil past the southern tip of Florida and toward Nassau and Kingston.
The matter is expected to be raised when regional foreign ministers meet US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton in Barbados on Thursday. The oil spill started in April when the Deepwater Horizon rig sank after an explosion, killing 11 workers. The spill has been described as the biggest environmental disaster in US history.
Suriname elections fair, says professor
University of the West Indies professor, Mark Kirton, says the international community should respect the results of last month’s election in Suriname.
The Mega Combination grouping of former dictator Desi Bouterse won the single largest block of seats.
However Bouterse’s leadership ambitions are being hindered by his criminal record.
He has been convicted of drug trafficking in a Netherlands court and the Dutch government has said it will not welcome him as president. He also faces trial at home in the slaying of 15 political opponents during his regime in 1982.
Additionally, the Netherlands has warned that relations with Paramaribo will be strained if Bouterse becomes the country’s leader.
