Bush heads for Caribbean conference in Curacao
As concern over the premier’s position as leader of the country mounted following revelations of three police investigations, McKeeva Bush flew off to the Caribbean Overseas Countries and Territories (COCT) Council Meeting in Curacao on Wednesday to represent the Cayman Islands at a high level meeting. Included in the delegation are local attorney Steve McField, Chief of Staff Leonard Dilbert and the Technical Assistant for European Union Projects Jamaal Anderson. Government officials said the meeting, which takes place on Thursday, will cover a range of matters affecting relations between the overseas territories and the European Union.
“An election of the COCT Council executive body is at the top of the day’s agenda,” a release from the premier’s office stated. “Discussion on a Memorandum of Understanding establishing the COCT Council follows with the meeting culminating with the signing of the MoU. Other matters on the agenda are: areas of regional cooperation around sustainable development; strengthening the development of small and medium sized enterprises; and the regional position within the framework of the 11th European Union – Overseas Countries and Territories Forum.”
As well as the Cayman Islands, other British Overseas Territories attending the meeting are Anguilla, British Virgin Islands and Montserrat. The Dutch territories and countries participating are Saba, St. Eustatius, Bonaire, St. Maarten, Aruba, and Curacao.
CNS
Chavez returns to Venezuela with boost in polls
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said that he will leave Cuba to return to Caracas on Thursday, after receiving radiotherapy treatment on the island, following a third surgery to remove a malignant tumor.
Chavez, 57, contacted Venezuela by telephone via the VTV state television channel, while the president of the National Assembly, Diosdado Cabello, was heading the regular weekly press conference of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV).
Meanwhile, Chavez garnered more than 50 percent of the voting intentions, ahead of the general elections on October 7, according to a recent poll conducted by the Hinterlaces agency.
According to the survey, youngsters and the least well-off sectors are those who support the Venezuelan leader.
Despite rumours about his health generating anxiety and fears about Chavez’s ability to govern, the study "Monitor Country-election in April 2012" found that 53 percent of Venezuelans would vote for him if the election were held today, reported the Argentinean news agency TELAM on its website.
The poll showed that 34 percent would vote for Henrique Capriles, the opposition candidate.
According to these results, Chavez has a comfortable19-point lead, confirming that the majority of the people of Venezuela are relying on Chavez’s recovery and his ability to continue to govern.
The survey asked about concern for the poor and 65 percent said that Chavez is more concerned with the less well off, while 22 percent chose Capriles.
The poll also found that the current president retains the support of most of the young voters: 55 percent of respondents aged 18 to 34-years-old said they would vote for him.
The study also found that 66 percent of respondents approve the president’s job performance, and two out of three consider that his perfomance has been "fair to good", "good" or "very good or excellent."
The data were provided by Oscar Schemel, director of Hinterlaces, and released by the Venezuelan News Agency.
Trinidad and Tobago prepares to host regional trade and investment forum
The government of Trinidad and Tobago, in cooperation with the Commonwealth Business Council and the Trinidad and Tobago Manufacturers’ Association, are planning to host the XIII Caribbean Investment Forum (CIF) and the Trade and Investment Convention (TIC) from May 16 to 19, 2012, in Port of Spain.
For over a decade, this high level forum has gathered a large number of business leaders, public elected officials and successful entrepreneurs from neighbouring Caribbean countries, as well as from the Americas, to share their vision and propose mutual projects that could soon be implemented in Trinidad and Tobago. This island nation is strategically located a few miles from the eastern shorelines of Venezuela, equipped with an economy that is mainly focused on the production of oil, liquefied natural gas, fisheries and cement manufacturing.
In the past, the Caribbean Investment Forum has had regular visitors from the Americas such as Brazil, Dominical Republic, Costa Rica, Panama, as well as from the Far East including China and India, as well as European Union member countries.
The upcoming investment forum will encompass and encourage high level panel discussions and bilateral meetings that will cover an array of vital investment sectors, which happen to form an integral part of the present economic development in the Caribbean region, such as energy, financial services, agribusiness, tourism, manufacturing, timber, fisheries and petrochemicals production.
Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar’s administration is redesigning a strategy to better administer and utilize its natural resources. The country is surrounded by vast reserves of natural gas, comprising of more than 481 billion cubic meters in one location and a recently discovered second area that could be the source of over 566 million cubic meters of natural gas. According to a study conducted in the 1980s, a conclusion was reached that Trinidad and Tobago contained over 0.3 percent of world’s gas reserves and supplied the international market with 0.2 percent of the world’s natural gas production.
According to Financial Times, Trinidad and Tobago is the largest exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to the United States and one of the top countries in the world in LNG production. These highly priced natural resources bond well with the Persad-Bissessar administration, which has constantly demonstrated its interest in fostering stronger ties with the United States. She has therefore been hesitant to follow the line of some of her Caribbean colleagues, who have often been supportive of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez’s regional economic initiatives and socialist reforms.
Every citizen in Trinidad and Tobago makes on average more than $18,000 per year and the island is renowned for being an outstanding investment location among the Caribbean islands, as well as for reaping the benefits of a stable economy that has experienced an impressive growth of over 8 percent during the last decade.
Strategic investments in LNG processing have encouraged an inevitable growth in the island’s fiscal stability and on its inhabitants’ ability to open savings accounts and improve their living conditions. Trinidad and Tobago takes pride in being the regional leader in oil and gas production; moreover it is also a major supplier of food and beverage products, cement and various manufactured commodities to neighbouring islands.
The second major event of this regional gathering will be the Trade and Investment Convention (TIC) that will be hosted by the Trinidad and Tobago Manufacturers Association in Port of Spain. This has traditionally been the largest trade show among Caribbean countries and it will gather hundreds of business leaders, manufacturers, suppliers and distributors, representatives of financial institutions, as well as venture capitalists and investors.
The TIC will be focused on improving inter-regional trade cooperation and fostering partnerships between Trinidadian manufacturers and their counterparts in the Caribbean and South America.
Chairman the TIC, Anthony Aboud, has estimated that over US$500 million has been created by these annual forums that have been organized during the past decade.
In April 2011, Aboud stated, “The convention is a success story with a tradition of growth and real business success. We estimate that TIC has facilitated over $0.5 billion in trade over the past 11 years. That’s just over US$450 million.”
Aboud added, “[this] is the best example of a working partnership between the public and private sectors. The success of partnership [that] brings together, government, private sector and commercial sponsors, like First Citizens Bank and the government through the Ministry of Trade, and this is one of the reasons why TIC grows every year from strength to strength.”
Trinidad and Tobago Trade Minister Stephen Cadiz believes that the upcoming Caribbean Investment Forum will contribute towards further projecting Trinidad and Tobago into a more sustainable development stage. According to Cadiz, “The main objective of this forum is to have Trinidad and Tobago transform its economy as well as establish this island nation as a trade and investment center of the region.”
Fake EC Money
The resurgence of counterfeit EC $50 and $100 bills has caused lawmen to urge the local business community to become “very familiar with the security features” of the Eastern Caribbean currency.
The advice comes from STRATCOM spokesman Corporal Frankie Thomas who said the fake money is often “passed late at night” when operators might not take the time to check the authenticity of the notes.
“From all indications it seems as if the security features are very much missing and quite visibly so,” the corporal noted.
He has cautioned that even during peak periods of business, those handling money must be very careful about the “texture and look” of money they receive.
Antigua Observer
Regional disaster officials meet in Barbados
Issues relating to the further strengthening of the regional Comprehensive Management (RCM) will be among matters discussed at the third meeting of the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) of the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) that begins in Barbados on Thursday.
The two-day meeting will also discuss a national comprehensive disaster management policy, the climate smart community disaster management programme and the mainstreaming climate change adaptation into the CDM Country Work programmes.
“TAC is part of the governance mechanism of CDEMA and provides strategic guidance on the development and implementation of the regional Comprehensive Disaster Management Programme. The meeting will see a gathering of senior officials of the national disaster management organisations of CDEMA’s 18 participating states and specialised regional organisations,” said a spokesman for the organisers.
He said the TAC will also consider the way forward on a logistics plan for the regional response mechanism and the review of 2010-2011 emergency events in CDEMA participating states. (TB/BGIS)
The two-day meeting will be addressed by the Acting Attorney General and Minister of Home Affairs, Michael Lashley.
Antigua Observer
China Said Unable to Protect Pyongyang After Nuclear Test
China's state-controlled media say Beijing will not be able to shield North Korea from the diplomatic consequences if it conducts a third nuclear test.
The warning appears Thursday in a commentary in Global Times, which is affiliated with China's ruling Communist Party. The article notes growing speculation that Pyongyang is preparing to conduct an underground nuclear test, which would be its third since 2006.
Beijing strongly opposes any such test, the article says and if North Korea goes ahead, China “will not be able to help it avoid various diplomatic results.” The U.N. Security Council has already warned it will “respond accordingly” to any further provocations by Pyongyang.
South Korea this month made available to VOA and other news organizations satellite surveillance photos showing fresh activity at the site of North Korea's two previous nuclear tests.
Suspicions that a test is imminent only grew after an attempted North Korean rocket launch ended in failure on April 13. The two previous nuclear tests followed failed missile tests and were seen as attempts to make up for the failures.
The Global Times article placed Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions in the context of recent missile tests by India and Pakistan. It said Asian countries are obsessed with improving their strategic striking capabilities and argued that the world should try to prevent them from doing so.
The article said weaker countries try to develop strategic weapons out of a fear of their stronger neighbors. It argued that the United States and its Asian allies should adopt a softer line so as not to provoke countries like North Korea.
Pakistani PM Convicted of Contempt But Spared Prison
The showdown between Pakistan's highest court and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani is over, with the court convicting Mr. Gilani of contempt.
The Supreme Court issued its verdict Thursday in Islamabad, ruling the prime minister openly defied the court's order to reopen an old corruption case against President Asif Ali Zardari. But the high court spared Mr. Gilani any time in prison, saying the sentence against him would only stand until the judges left the chamber.
Mr. Gilani could have been sent to prison for up to six months and could still be removed from office as a result of his conviction.
Thursday's guilty verdict is the latest development in what has been an ongoing battle between the court and the prime minister over the status of corruption cases dating back to the 1990s.
Prosecutors accuse President Zardari, former prime minister Benazir Bhutto and others of laundering millions of dollars through Swiss bank accounts. Ms. Bhutto, President Zardari's wife, was assassinated in 2007.
Charges against Mr. Zardari and the others were dropped after a 2007 amnesty agreement, but the court struck down the deal in 2009 and has been battling to reopen the cases ever since.
Prime Minister Gilani has refused to cooperate, arguing instead that the president has legal immunity while in office.
Japan’s ‘Shadow Shogun’ Acquitted in Fund-Raising Scandal
Influential Japanese political figure Ichiro Ozawa was acquitted Thursday on charges of violating fund raising laws, setting up a possible showdown in the country's ruling party.
The Tokyo District Court said there was no evidence that Ozawa knowingly falsified reports to hide a $5 million loan he made to his political fund-raising body to facilitate a land deal in 2004.
The ruling means the 69-year-old power broker, nicknamed the “shadow shogun” for his behind-the-scenes deal-making, could soon be re-instated into the ruling Democratic Party of Japan.
Ozawa has been a vocal critic of Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda — also a member of the DPJ — and his controversial plan to double the sales tax to address a massive government debt.
Ozawa is widely credited with masterminding the DPJ's historic victory in 2009 over Japan's long-ruling conservative party.
Though the scandal forced Ozawa to step down as head of the DPJ, he has retained a loyal core of supporters. His re-instatement will likely make it more difficult for Prime Minister Noda to pass his plan to double a consumer sales tax to 10 percent by 2015.
Japan's top government spokesperson, Osamu Fujimura, says he hopes Ozawa's acquittal will not hurt the bill's chances of being approved.
“Facing this decision, our response as a government is just to hope for the fastest possible passing of legislation (on raising the consumer sales tax).”
Mr. Noda says the plan is necessary to bring down the country's historic debt and pay for rising social security expenses. But Ozawa says Japan's already fragile economy cannot handle the tax increase.
Prosecutors initially decided not to prosecute Ozawa, but they changed course after a panel of ordinary citizens called for his indictment. Three former aides were convicted last year in connection with the scandal.
Panetta Welcomes Brazil as World Power; Seeks Military Cooperation
U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is calling for closer military cooperation with Brazil, hailing the rising South American nation as a true global power.
During remarks late Wednesday in Rio de Janeiro, Panetta stressed a U.S. offer to foster closer relations by selling Brazil's air force a number of advanced Super Hornet fighter aircraft. The planes employ advanced technology offered only to America's closest allies.
Panetta was speaking at Brazil's Superior War College, where he said Brazil's growing strength is good for both countries.
“This is a relationship, the United States and Brazil, a relationship between two global powers. And we welcome Brazil's growing strength. We support Brazil as a global leader, and seek closer defense cooperation because we believe that a stronger and more globally engaged Brazil will help enhance international security for all of us. With our deepening partnership, Brazil's strength is more than ever, our strength.”
Panetta said the two countries should work together in pursuit of peace and security, particularly in Africa.
With one of the world's fastest-growing economies, Brazil is being courted as an ally by various world powers.
Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff last month met with the leaders of Russia, India, China and South Africa at a summit in India of the so-called BRICS nations, where the leaders questioned the Western-backed global economic architecture based on the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.
They also called for dialogue with Syria and Iran in what was seen as a challenge to the harder-line position of the United States.
While Brazil's military spending has been relatively stable as a percentage of gross domestic product at between 1 and 2 percent, its overall GDP has soared from about $600 billion in 2000 to more than $2 trillion in 2010 according to World Bank figures.
Newt Gingrich to End US Presidential Campaign
A spokesman for Newt Gingrich says the former U.S. House speaker will officially end his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination next week.
The spokesman says Gingrich will endorse Mitt Romney, the party's presumptive nominee, when he suspends his campaign. Romney called Gingrich Wednesday, a day after Romney won five state primary elections to effectively seal the nomination.
Gingrich acknowledged that Romney is the likely nominee during a campaign appearance Wednesday in North Carolina.
“This guy's worked six years, put together a big machine, and has put together a serious campaign. I think obviously that I would be a better candidate, but the objective factor is that voters didn't think that. I also think that it's very, very important that we be unified. Nothing should stop, no conservative anywhere in America should have any doubt about the importance of defeating Barack Obama.”
Gingrich emerged as a strong contender after winning the South Carolina primary in January, but his campaign faltered after he lost the following primary in Florida. His only other primary election win was in March, in his home state of Georgia, and his campaign is over $4 million in debt.
Gingrich's spokesman says he will focus his efforts on helping Republicans retain control of the U.S. House of Representatives and seize control of the Senate. Gingrich masterminded the Republican takeover of the House in 1994.
Another former Republican presidential candidate, Texas Governor Rick Perry, announced Wednesday that he was endorsing Romney. Perry dropped out of the race after the South Carolina primary and had endorsed Gingrich for the nomination.
Meanwhile, a spokesman for President Barack Obama's campaign announced Wednesday that the president will officially begin his re-election campaign next week with rallies in Virginia and Ohio, accompanied by his wife Michelle.
Mr. Obama had no challengers for the Democratic Party nomination.