News

Caribbean Trade Ministers have agreed to set up a committee to examine ways of closing the gaps in a proposed trade agreement with Canada and so revive negotiations. Canada had set a June 30 deadline but Caricom is yet to reach consensus on the proposed agreement. Sources said Caricom’s Ministerial Council for Trade and Economic Development agreed that political representatives ...

San Juan, Nov 6 (EFE).- Canada-based Scotiabank foresees the closure of 120 branches, principally in the Caribbean and Mexico, in a move to “reduce structural costs,” a spokesperson told Efe Thursday.Scotiabank’s Public & Corporate Affairs officer, Sheena Findlay, said the bank has been working in recent years to build up its market position “through organic growth and selective acquisitions.”“This growth ...

The Guyana government is moving to authenticate a telephone recording purportedly containing the Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs , Anil Nandlall’s voice making a number of controversial statements. Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr Roger Luncheon told a news conference that an entity in North America has been asked to verify the tape. Vice Chairman of the Alliance ...

As Guyanese prepare to return to the polls in early general and regional elections, the Alliance For Change (AFC) believes that if President Donald Ramotar ends up with another minority government there should be some form of executive power sharing. Ramotar has already threatened to suspend or dissolve parliament and call elections if the opposition refuses to deal with government’s ...

By Mar Centenera Buenos Aires, Nov 6 (EFE).- With “smart shoes” that vibrate when the wearer approaches an object, Argentine student Juan Manuel Bustamante hopes to provide an alternative for younger blind people who don’t like the traditional white cane. Bustamante’s prototype, which he has entered in next week’s National Science Fair, detects any object within a radius of 25 ...

San Juan, Nov 6 (EFE).- The government of Trinidad and Tobago may buy genetically modified mosquitoes in a bid to reduce the population of mosquitoes that spread dengue fever and the Chikungunya virus in the territories, the Trinidad Express reported Thursday.Health Minister Fuad Khan said the final decision will depend mostly on consideration of cost, according to the newspaper.The proposal ...

Rio de Janeiro, Nov 6 (EFE).- The Munduruku Indians have begun marking their ancestral lands in the Amazon region on their own, tired of waiting for the Brazilian government to get around to protecting the territory, indigenous sources said Thursday. The area claimed by the Indians, called the Sawre Muybu, is a jungle zone 178,000 hectares (about 700 square miles) ...

San Juan, Nov 6 (EFE).- Britain’s Cable & Wireless Communications PLC plans to buy Barbados-based Columbus International Inc. for $1.85 billion in order to increase its presence in the Caribbean region, CWC said Thursday.Besides paying $1.85 billion in cash and CWC shares, the purchaser will assume Colombus’ $1.17 billion in debt, according to a statement.Columbus is a multinational telecommunications and ...

Even as Guyana’s opposition prepares to commence debate on the no-confidence motion on Monday, President Donald Ramotar could end up running the country without the National Assembly for as much as nine months if he suspends the current parliamentary session. The no-confidence motion, to be moved by Alliance For Change parliamentarian Moses Nagamootoo, is listed at number 11 on the ...

Havana, Nov 5 (EFE).- The first investment projects in the Mariel Special Development Zone, or ZEDM, the first of its kind in Cuba, will kick off later this year or in early 2015 in sectors including food-processing and renewable energy, the Communist Party daily Granma reported Wednesday.The announcement of investment plans for the port and trade zone, located in the ...