VENEZUELA INVESTIGATES ALLEDGED “CROSSWORD PLOT”—05/12/12
Intelligence agents in Venezuela are investigating the author of a crossword puzzle that appeared in a newspaper about alleged coded calls for the killing of President Hugo Chavez’s older brother. Supporters of Chavez and others have ridiculed the suggestion that Neptali Segovia, an English teacher who creates crosswords for the Ultimas Noticias newspaper, actually hid the calls for killing in her crossword puzzle clues. The allegations were first raised by a state television presenter Miguel Perez Pirela, who noted the words “kill” along with the name “Adan,” which is the name of Chavez’s brother.
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JAMAICANS TO GET “MICROWORK”—05/12/12
Thousands of unemployed young people and women in Jamaica could get jobs over the Internet through the microwork model. A project developed through a partnership between the Jamaican government and the World Bank is designed to promote web information and communication technology opportunity. Digital Jam 2.0 will offer support to pilot projects that employ as many as 2,000 youths, according to World Bank representative for Jamaica and Guyana, Giorgio Valentini. Microwork involves performing small tasks that have been broken out of larger projects and relate to market research, data input, verification, copywriting, graphic design, and software development.
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CARIBBEAN, LATIN AMERICA RECEIVE US$153 BILLION IN FOREIGN INVESTMENT—05/05/12
In 2011, the Caribbean region and Latin America received a total of US$153.448 billion in direct foreign investments. This represents ten percent of the global total flows, stated a report to the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean presented on May 3, 2012. This is thought to be the largest amount of such investments received in the region to date. The main recipients of the 2011 investments were Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Colombia, Peru, Argentina, Venezuela, and Uruguay.
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IRIESOCIAL LAUNCHES IN JAMAICA—05/05/12
The digital marketplace IrieSocial, which was created by the Jamaican-born Canadian Garnette Rose in partnership with Olympic athlete Asafa Powell and his brother Nigel, is ready for launch. The marketplace provides subscribers with daily deals on products and services from merchant associates. Rose said he developed the idea as a way to create commerce using price and discovery to balance supply and demand. He says IrieSocial wants to showcase the best products and services in the ecommerce marketplace and offer businesses in the Caribbean a way to break through to opportunities in global markets.
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BUSH NAMED CARIBBEAN COUNCIL VICE CHAIRMAN—04/28/12
The Prime Minister of the Cayman Islands McKeeva Bush has been elected as Vice Chair of the Caribbean Overseas Countries and Territories Council. His election came after meetings with representatives of the ten nations and territories in the organization in Curacao. According to Bush, the formation of the Council represents a critical step for the regional territories and essential for cooperation among them. Such cooperation is necessary to make progress with the European Union and other organizations.
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CLOUD CARIB PARTNERS WITH VMWARE IN BAHAMAS—04/30/12
A partnership between Cloud Carib Ltd. and VMware represents a major milestone in the cloud computing strategy in the Caribbean. Cloud Carib has been gaining strength in the cloud computer sector in the Bahamas for some time, and now it has met all the requirements for becoming an Enterprise Partner with VMware. Hector Luciano, sales director for VMware in Latin America and the Caribbean, congratulated Cloud Carib for attaining the highly respected Enterprise Partner status.
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FUGITIVE BRIT EXTRADITED BY DOMINICAN REPUBLIC—04/21/12
Michael Brown, the fugitive multi-millionaire fraudster, has been extradited to Britain by officials in the Dominican Republic. Brown was arrested in January 2012 in Punta Cana where he had lived under the name of Darren Nally. Brown is accused of defrauding four clients out of $62 million and was sentenced to seven years in jail in 2008 in absentia after his fraud conviction in the United Kingdom.
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GOVERNMENT IN JAMAICA WANTS EMERGY COST SAVINGS—04/21/12
The Jamaican government is introducing an energy efficiency and conservation program designed to save over $2 billion in energy costs every year. Phillip Paulwell, Minister of Science, Technology, Energy and Mining, announced the government’s plans at the Jamaica Power Summit 2012 event. The program will be funded by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).
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GROWTH IN MONKEY POPULATION IN BARBADOS TO BE STUDIED—04/14/12
The Barbadian government plans to launch an investigation into why the country’s monkey population has increased in recent years. According to Kim Downes Agard, environmental officer, the behavior of the African green monkey will be studied by fitting the animals with transmitters in an effort to determine how many of them exist. The government will also monitor how many monkeys are exported from Barbados to ensure that the trade can be sustained. The monkeys, which have golden-green fur, were introduced to the region in the 17th century.
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LACK OF RESOURCES FOR FIGHTING OIL SPILLS THREATENS CARIBBEAN—04/16/12
Jamaica and other island nations in the Caribbean have few resources for battling a major oil spill in the region, say delegates to a convention held to discuss the prevention and response to a serious oil spill. According to Christopher Cargill, the chairman of the Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica, Caribbean islands do not have access to the substantial resources required to respond effectively to a spill such as the one in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. The creation of a cooperation mechanism among small states in the Caribbean is critical in preparing for a catastrophic oil spill.
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CHINA HAS GROWING ECONOMIC IMPACT IN CARIBBEAN—04/07/12
The Bahamas received a new stadium worth $35 million as a gift from China’s government. Dominica received a grammar school, a hospital, and a sports stadium from China. Antigua and Barbuda received a cricket stadium and a power plant. China has increasingly made loans, investments, and gifts to Caribbean countries in an attempt to gain influence in the region. China is now recognized as the “new player” of importance in the Caribbean.
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JAMAICAN GOVERNMENT ESTABLISHES CLIMATE CHANGE ADVISORY BODY—04/10/12
The government of Jamaica has created an advisory committee comprising some of the top scientific minds on the island to help with getting the Climate Change Department into operation by the end of 2012. Robert Pickersgill, Minister of Water, Land, Environment, and Climate Change, announced the formation of the committee at a symposium organized by the University of the West Indies Faculty of Law. The committee will be chaired by Dr. Conrad Douglas, environmental management consultant, and include Professor Anthony Chen, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. The committee will be responsible for coordinating and managing Jamaica’s efforts to address the negative impacts of the changing climate.
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