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CARICOM Summit must support PM Browne, go for marshall plan
When Caribbean Community (CARICOM) leaders hold their virtual summit tomorrow, an important outcome would be to add regional heft to Gaston Browne’s call on the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank to make it easier for regional countries to access their financial resources. But the heads of government must go further. They should…
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COVID-19: Flattening the curve and relaxing public health measures in the Caribbean
Dear Editor, As of 23rd March, 2020, all countries and territories in the Caribbean have reported COVID-19 cases to the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). In all instances the first few COVID-19 cases were imported by arriving travelers or nationals returning from Europe and United States of America by air or sea. A cumulative total of…
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Caribbean at risk as big powers delay action on COVID-19 global economic effects
By Sir Ronald Sanders Despite a lofty statement on March 26, the world’s richest nations, the G20, have responded poorly to the devastating effects that COVID-19 is having on the global economy, particularly small and vulnerable states. The G20 pledged to “work swiftly and decisively with the front-line international organizations, notably the World Health Organization,…
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A very weary regional student
Dear Editor, Good day, as a current resident at 138 Student Living Phase 2, I am inclined to write you to shed some light on the sever circumstances we are experiencing by this corporation and by extension the University of the West Indies as only the glitz and glamour is seen in the media. Most…
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Humanity: Best and Worst
By Melissa Martin “A Tale of Two Cities,” by Charles Dickens, a classic that sums up life and death from the beginning to the ending. The human history is a narrative of war and peace, but also health and disease on planet Earth. And the lesson we continue to learn is that health is wealth.…
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Financial measures necessary to ride-out Coronavirus
By Sir Ronald Sanders Regardless of the number of Coronavirus cases (COVID-19) that occur in the Caribbean, the economies of each of them, particularly those dependent on tourism, will suffer in the immediate to medium term. Fear, and travel restrictions on persons living in countries with COVID-19, have already disrupted the global economy and supply…
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Improving the fortunes of LIAT will be a tall order
With all the pleasantries and the compliments having been showered on Owen Arthur, the former Barbados Prime Minister, on his elevation to the Chairmanship of LIAT, and the kudos given to Dr. Jean Holder, who served in that position, it is now down to basics for work to begin on improving the fortunes of the…
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Masquerade by Venezuelan Academics to avoid rule of law
By Sir Ronald Sanders My less than 1,000 words commentary, on the case before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) between Guyana and Venezuela, provoked a response of 2,069 words from two academics of Universidad Central de Venezuela. The response merits reply if only because the authors, Kenneth Ramirez and Mirna Yonis, have attempted to…
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Hypocrisy unmasked at the OAS
By Sir Ronald Sanders If candidates were to get a prize for making the best case for why they are best suited to be Secretary-General of the OAS, María Fernanda Espinosa would have easily walked away with it when the three contenders for the post appeared before the Permanent Council of the Organization on February…
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The Trump card in Venezuela crisis
By Sir Ronald Sanders When is a failed policy recognised as a failure and is abandoned for a new approach? That was the question that Barack Obama and his administration had to confront after more than 50 years of a policy of trade embargoes, sanctions and, at one point, invasion that failed to dislodge the…
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Lies in the OAS contest: sifting the wheat from the chaff
By Sir Ronald Sanders If ever there was a time in global politics when governments did not indulge in deliberately and maliciously running smear campaigns against candidates they oppose for international positions, it has now passed. Indeed, powerful countries, that should be able to use their vast diplomatic machinery to argue the merits of candidates…