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Friday, 09 February 2007 |
 In an
unexpected disclosure, it was reported last week that the Bush administration
has prepared a proposal that could significantly increase the fees for
immigration services. The announcement of this proposal is surprising, as just
a few weeks ago, in his State of the Union address President Bush urged the US
Congress to hasten immigration reforms that would be favorable to undocumented
immigrants.
Now the
proposed increases, which will affect nearly every naturalization and immigration
fee charged by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS),
will make it more difficult for immigrants seeking citizenship or legal
permanent residency to afford.
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Jamaica Senate to protect workers living with HIV/AIDS |
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Wednesday, 07 February 2007 |
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A motion that calls for changes to be made to Jamaica's labor laws to protect workers living with HIV/AIDS was approved by the Senate Friday.
The motion moved by Opposition member Dwight Nelson stated that the screening of persons for HIV/AIDS as a prerequisite for employment is discriminatory.
Nelson called on the Senate to petition the government to amend the Labor Relations and Industrial Disputes Act (LRIDA) to make such a practice illegal.
"I have no doubt that many believe that casual contact…with persons affected by HIV/AIDS, can result in the transmission of the disease.
"Indeed many still hold firm to the view that AIDS is simply the result of men having sex with men, thereby intensifying the homophobia for which Jamaica is internationally known," Nelson stated.
He also contended that the practice violates the conventions of the International Labor Organization (ILO), which Jamaica has ratified.
He was supported by Government member Professor Trevor Munroe who urged the Senate to go a step further by revisiting the amended Charter of Rights to make discriminatory practices unconstitutional.
"And I am recommending that we set out to include in the amended Charter of Rights, which I hope and pray will be passed very soon, a clause that will make it unconstitutional to discriminate against any of our citizens on grounds of disability and on ground of health status," Munroe said.
The ILO, the United Nations body responsible for workers' rights, has been calling for global action to stop discrimination against persons living with HIV/AIDS
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Trinidad and Tobago and venture capital industry |
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Wednesday, 07 February 2007 |
At least one Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country will benefit from a US$500,000 fund approved by the Washington-based Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF) to strengthen the venture capital industry in Latin America and the Caribbean.
MIF said that Trinidad and Tobago had been included among a number of Latin American countries to benefit from the project that would be carried out through the Latin American Venture Capital Association (LAVCA) to promote greater participation from international and local investors in the allocation of resources to the region.
“LAVCA will coordinate with local venture capital associations to foster development and competitiveness of small and medium-sized enterprises in the region,” said MIF Team Leader Susana García-Robles.
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Dominica hotel executive outlines challenges to industry |
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Wednesday, 07 February 2007 |
A senior official of the Caribbean Society of Hotel Association Executives (CSHAE) has identified three challenges affecting the growth of the hotel sector in the region.
Addressing the annual general meeting of the Dominica Hotel Tourism Association (DHTA) on Monday night, CSHAE executive Vice President Susan Springer said issues such as air transportation, the environment as well as safety and security were matters that needed the attention of stakeholders.
She predicted that the moves to merge the struggling regional airlines – Leeward Islands Air Transport (LIAT) and Caribbean Star – would have an effect on the smaller islands of the region. The new entity is expected to come on stream from February 1.
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Inflation continues downward slide in Trinidad |
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Wednesday, 07 February 2007 |
The Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago (CBTT) said Friday that inflation had dropped for the second consecutive month after reaching 10 per cent in October.
CBTT said that food prices, the major contributor to headline inflation, “increased year-on-year by 22 per cent, slightly below the increases of 26.5 per cent and 24.3 per cent in October and November respectively”.
The CBTT said that latest data released by the Central Statistical Office, showed that headline inflation measured 9.1 per cent on a year-on-year basis to December 2006 compared with 9.6 per cent in November and a high of 10 per cent in October.
The main increases in the food sub-index on a year-on-year basis came from vegetables, meat, fish, and fruits.
“Core inflation, which excludes the impact of food prices, remained virtually unchanged from the previous month at 4.6 per cent with the sub-indices for alcoholic beverages and tobacco, health and education posting year-on-year increases of 20.2 per cent, 10.1 per cent and 11.0 per cent, respectively.”
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