The Jamaica Parliament has begun debate to cut ties with the British Privy Council and make the Caribbean Court of Justice the final court of appeal. Prime Minister, Portia Simpson-Miller on Tuesday described resort to the Privy Council as a fundamental missing link in independence. Against the background of the expected insistence by the opposition Jamaica Labour Party that the ...

Antigua and Barbuda has finally completed the process to waive the need for work permits for nationals of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS). The country is the last member-nation of the OECS to implement this along with the granting of indefinite stays for OECS nationals. The bill to meet the obligations under the OECS Economic Union was passed ...

San Juan, Nov 26 (EFE).- The U.S. Coast Guard rescued six boaters after their vessel ran aground on the rocks just off Coral Bay in St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands. Coast Guard personnel in the San Juan office received an emergency radio call from the group on Monday night asking for help, an official confirmed to Efe. A rescue crew ...

Havana, Nov 26 (EFE).- Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo culiminated his first official visit toCubawithout meeting President Raul Castro but with a message about the need for speedier economic reforms and the situation of political prisoners in the country. Although not on the official agenda, it was assumed that Castro would receive the Spanish minister who in the end ...

Several Guyanese from Indigenous Amerindian communities have complained that they were trafficked to neighbouring Suriname to work under harsh conditions. Guyanese police said the men were recruited to work on farms in the Dutch-speaking country. Investigators said the five undocumented Guyanese received limited food and were required to work for long hours without being paid. The victims have identified the ...

A privately-owned executive jet service, whose Guyanese owner has been arrested in Puerto Rico allegedly with US$620,000 in his possession, has been used by Former President Bharrat Jagdeo and his successor, Donald Ramotar, according to well-placed sources. The owner, Khamraj Lall, was arrested in Puerto Rico on November 22 after US$600,000 was sniffed out by dogs that were taken aboard ...

A Guyanese man was arrested this weekend for traveling on a plane over US$ 600,000 in cash hidden in plastic bags. The large sum of money was allegedly not reported to federal authorities, but a dog handled by agents in the Luis Munoz Marin International Airport detected the cash stashed on the aircraft. The detainee, Khamraj Lall, was the passenger ...

Workers at the Chinese-owned BOSAI Minerals Limited bauxite plant at Linden on Tuesday continued to down tools and stayed off the job to press demands for higher salaries, according to well-placed sources. Preliminary information reaching Caribbean News Desk is that the company is offering a six percent hike in salaries, but the workers are demanding around seven to eight percent. ...

Madrid, Nov 25 (EFE).- Facebook launched on Tuesday a new chatting application worldwide called “Rooms” which simulates traditional internet chatting rooms, enabling users to chat with strangers on specific topics.“Rooms”, which has been active in the United States since last October, will be available in Spanish, French and German, in addition to English, for devices that operate iOS software, and ...

Montevideo, Nov 25 (EFE).- The countries of Latin America and the Caribbean must update and modernize legislation on ports to deal with the changes in the maritime transportation industry over the past two decades, experts from 18 countries in the region said.This was one of the main issues debated by experts attending the first hemispheric seminar on port legislation, which ...