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Guyana’s Opposition Leader, David Granger has registered his displeasure at the way the 15-nation Caribbean Community (Caricom) has handled his request to intervene in his country’s political impasse. Mr. Granger had asked that Caricom leaders hold an emergency summit tot pressure President Donald Ramotar to lift the now more than one-month old suspension of Parliament.  The law-making body was prorogued ...

New U.S.-Cuba relationship could open Cuban markets to U.S. firms Washington, Dec 18 (EFE).- The agreement between the United States and Cuba to resume diplomatic relations, which were broken off in 1961, could open the door to the Cuban market to U.S. firms, which currently are banned from doing business there.Companies such as automobile manufacturer General Motors, agribusiness giant Cargill ...

Vatican City, Dec 17 (EFE).- Pope Francis was “deeply pleased” that the United States and Cuba have announced the normalization of diplomatic relations “in order to overcome, for the good of their peoples, the troubles that have marred their history,” Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said Wednesday. Lombardi released a statement minutes after U.S. President Barack Obama and his Cuban countepart, Raul Castro, ...

Washington, Dec 17 (EFE).- American contractor Alan Gross thanked U.S. President Barack Obama on Wednesday for securing his release from prison and expressed support for his administration’s decision to work toward restoring full diplomatic relations with Cuba. “Thank you, President Obama, for everything you have done today and leading up to today,” Gross, accompanied by his wife, Judy, said at a ...

Washington, Dec 17 (EFE).- The leading Republican in the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday slammed President Barack Obama’s decision to resume full diplomatic ties with Communist-ruled Cuba as a “mindless” concession to a dictatorship. Obama’s decision to launch talks aimed at restoring full relations that were severed in 1961 has sparked outrage from House Speaker John Boehner and other Republican members ...

Statement by the Secretary-General of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), Ambassador Irwin LaRocqueThe Caribbean Community (CARICOM) welcomes the thawing of relations between the United States and Cuba and the move towards the re-establishment of diplomatic ties.  CARICOM has long been an advocate for the normalisation of these relations and has raised the issue repeatedly in its interaction with both parties. As ...

United Nations, Dec 17 (EFE).- U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Wednesday that the United States’ decision to restore full diplomatic ties with Cuba is a “very positive” development. “The news is very positive,” Ban said at his year-end press conference, thanking U.S. President Barack Obama and Cuba’s head of state, Raul Castro, for “taking this very important step.” The United Nations “stands ready ...

Washington/Havana, Dec 17 (EFE).- A prisoner swap between Cuba and the United States, and the release of American contractor Alan Gross by Havana opened the way Wednesday for the two countries to end more than five decades of political animosity. U.S. President Barack Obama said in an address Wednesday that he was taking a series of steps to normalize relations with Cuba. Obama ...

San Juan, Dec 15 (EFE).- The Caribbean Development Bank has approved more than $120 million in loans to fund dozens of projects related to agriculture, energy and infrastructure.Trinidad and Tobago is to receive $40 million “to support Trinidad’s conversion of the fuel usage of vehicles in the transport sector from diesel and gasoline to Compressed Natural Gas,” the CDB said.The ...

Port-au-Prince, Dec 16 (EFE).- Haitian President Michel Martelly has met legislative, judicial and political leaders to discuss the appointment of a new prime minister and moves towards overcoming the current political crisis in the country.Martelly sat down Monday with Stevenson Jacques Thimoleon, speaker of the Lower House and Senate speaker Simon Dieuseul Desras for the talks.The president also received the ...