Local News |
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture
Samuel Carette says the Agricultural sector holds much
potential and encourages investment
Reporter:
Kimberly Benjamin- Thursday
September 02 2010
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The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture
Samuel Carette is in full support for investment in the
Agricultural sector. Mr Carette told the 8th
AGM of the Dominica Agricultural Production & Exporters
Company at Marigot on Tuesday that based on the National
Accounts Statistics for 2009 the Agricultural sector
grew by 5.2% in that year in spite of the decline in the
banana sub-sector. He says since the 2007/2008 crisis
the world is more and more convinced that investments
must be made in agriculture. Meantime, the General
Manager Consultant of the Aid Bank Kingsley Thomas says
they are seeking to discuss new courses – to take new
paths with the objective of having not only the banana
sector but the total agricultural sector in Dominica for
it to succeed. Mr Thomas told the meeting that banana
farmers have survived many turbulent weathers. Former PM
Edison Chenfille James is DPBL’s top banana producer for
2009. He farms 5 acres of bananas in the Hatton Garden
Catchment of the Marigot District. In 2009 he sold 1752
boxes or 33.5 metric tons of bananas.
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Dominica loses a cruise line so does another country
gain one?
Reporter:
Kimberly Benjamin-
Thursday September 02 2010
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Dominica says it will struggle to fill the gap left by
Carnival Cruise lines when it drops the island from its
itinerary come November. Carnival has been operating
cruises to Dominica for some 21 years and officials say
there will be a serious financial blow from the loss of
the cruise line. Tourism Industry Officials say Dominica
will lose about 150, 00 passengers a year with
Carnival’s pull out. The President of the Dominica Hotel
& Tourism Association Simon Walsh says industry leaders
will have to work hard to replace Carnival as its pull
out will leave a serious financial gap which will have
real impact. Other cruise lines do visit Dominica; about
2 on an average day. Some days as many as 5 ships are in
port, but Carnival which stops twice a week was
different in that it would visit even in the tourism low
season. Ag Tourism Minister Charles Savarin says the
government will find it hard to replace the cruise line.
Carnival Cruise line says the high cost of fuel is the
main reason for its decision to cancel stops to
Dominica. So with Carnival Cruise lines pulling out of
Dominica what’s the prognosis for the rest of the
region? Monty Madison an editor with the New York based
cruise industry publication – ‘Cruise Industry News’
gives his views. He says Dominica’s loss may be another
country’s gain.
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Dr. Francis Severin calls on parents to take a stand in
the interest of their children’s education
Reporter:
Lakisha Labassiere-
Thursday September 02 2010
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Head of the UWI Open Campus Dominica Chapter, Dr.
Francis Severin, calls on parents to take a stand in the
interest of their children’s education. Speaking to the
lapse of education ministry in the implementation of the
Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE), Dr.
Francis says this examination along with the CXC is
designed for Caribbean students. The Head of the UWI
Open Campus warns that decisions made today can do
injustice to the ability of future generations to care
for themselves.
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Pannist Athie Martin says students who play music excel
in the mathematics and science subject areas
Reporter: Lakisha Labassiere-
Thursday September 02 2010
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Pannist, Atherton Martin, is of the view that there is a
direct correlation between the art of music and
mathematics and science. Martin says many research
studies have proved that students, who play music, excel
in the science and mathematics subject. He claims that
creating a steel pan orchestra requires the discipline,
order and unity of effort all; characteristics which are
vital to learning.
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Iridologist Dr. Fowler says constant depression leads to
chronic diseases
Reporter:
Lakisha Labassiere- Thursday
September 02 2010
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Iridologist Dr. V.R. Fowler is of the view that
depression from financial stress can lead to a number of
ailments. Dr. Fowler, who was speaking to the topic of
‘Money, Emotions and Stress’, says constant depression
is a leading contributing factor to the manifestation of
chronic diseases. She says hypertension and nervous
breakdowns are also effects of depression.
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Nature Island Paper Products Inc. launches its services
in Dominica August 31 2010
Reporter:
Kimberly Benjamin- Thursday
September 02 2010
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The Managing Director of the Nature Island Paper
Products Inc. Severin McKenzie says the new enterprise
will have a positive impact on the Dominican economy.
The enterprise launched 2 individual products on the
Dominican market Tuesday. McKenzie says the biggest
beneficiary of this project is the Government of
Dominica. McKenzie is recommending a review on the
policy on fiscal incentives for manufacturers who are
starting an enterprise. Meanwhile, Dominica is to launch
a National export Strategy. Trade Director Dr Eisenhower
Douglas said that Dominican businesses will benefit
greatly.
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144 Teacher
positions to be created within Dominica's Ministry of
Education
Reporter:
Kimberly Benjamin-
Thursday September 02 2010
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Education Minister Peter St Jean has announced 2 major
initiatives to help develop education in Dominica. He
says that in order for teachers to deliver quality
education they must be highly motivated and attention
has been given to create 50 graduate teacher positions
and 94 qualified teacher positions within the ministry
of education.
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Regional News |
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Japan pledges help
www.bbccaribbean.com -
Thursday September 02 2010 |
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Japan has pledged to help Caribbean Community (Caricom)
nations during the economic crisis. The promise came
during a meeting of foreign ministers in Tokyo on
Thursday. This was only the second Japan-Caricom
Ministerial-Level Conference; the first was held in
2000. Analysts in Tokyo say Japan aims to deepen
economic and other cooperation with Caribbean nations to
win their support for its bid to become a permanent
member of the UN Security Council and seek their
understanding of Japan's position as a whaling nation.
Japanese news agencies report that Caribbean countries
asked for Japan's assistance to recover from the
financial crisis. Japan said it would dispatch a joint
public-private economic mission to discover potential
business opportunities in the financial and tourism
sectors of the region. The two sides also agreed to
cooperate in supporting quake-hit Haiti and in tackling
climate change.
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Watch on for new storm
www.bbccaribbean.com -
Thursday September 02 2010 |
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Gaston, the season's newest tropical storm which formed
on Wednesday, is expected to strengthen into a hurricane
during the weekend. It is currently in the open Atlantic
but is forecast to head west toward the northeast
Caribbean. Gaston follows on the heels of Fiona which is
moving away from the region and will likely veer toward
Bermuda over the next several days. A tropical storm
watch has been issued for the British territory. Before
Fiona, there was Hurricane Earl which caused $50-150
million in insured losses in the Virgin Islands, St
Maarten, St Martin and Puerto Rico when it blew through
the northeast Caribbean earlier this week. That's the
assessment of the risk modelling company AIR Worldwide.
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St Kitts air incident deemed serious
www.bbccaribbean.com -
Thursday September 02 2010 |
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An air accident report issued in London has said that a
British Airways plane took off on a section of a runway
in St Kitts that was not long enough for that type of
aircraft. In what was described as a "serious incident",
the BA crew mistook one plane taxiway for another and
ended up at an intersection on the runway which was not
an authorised point for Boeing 777s to take off. The
plane eventually took off safely on its flight to
Antigua on the afternoon of 26 September last year. One
of the recommendations of British Air Accidents
Investigation Branch was a tightening up of standards
and practices at the Robert Bradshaw Airport in St
Kitts. BA was also told to review its airfield
inspections process.
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