Local News |
The Roosevelt Skerrit led administration says it is
confident that its leader will win his dual citizenship
case
Reporter:
Kimberly Benjamin- Friday
August 27 2010
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The Government of Dominica says it remains confident
that PM Roosevelt Skerrit will win his dual citizenship
case when the matter goes to trial. Mr Skerrit and his
education minister won their seats in last December’s
election, but a high court judge on Wednesday granted an
opposition petition for the court to determine whether
their election was valid. During last year’s campaign
the Opposition UWP claimed that Mr Skerrit was
ineligible to contest the election because he held a
French passport. Mr Skerrit said at the time that he
obtained the citizenship as a child, not through his own
deliberate judgment. Similar charges were also levelled
against Education Minister Peter St Jean. Following the
election the UWP filed a court petition charging that
their dual citizenship nullified their election to
parliament. Wednesday judge Errol Thomas ruled that
there were sufficient grounds for the matter to be heard
in court. This means that there is a possibility of Mr
Skerrit being disqualified from government. Legal
affairs minister Ian Douglas says while he is confident
that the PM will win his case, he is aware that the
court may rule in favour of the opposition. Mr Douglas
also brushed aside suggestions that there could be some
level of instability over the uncertainty surrounding Mr
Skerrit’s political future. The political leader of the
UWP Ron Green says he’s pleased with Wednesday’s ruling
on the dual citizenship issue. 4 MPs in St Kitts &
Jamaica have also faced legal action from their
political opponents over their dual citizenship.
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Citizens Forum for Good Governance once again gives
nationals the floor to express their concerns
Reporter:
Kimberly Benjamin-
Friday August 27 2010
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Dominicans who have concerns over governance issues were
given a forum to express themselves last evening -
Citizens Forum for Good Governance at the Harlem Plaza
in Newtown. Parliamentary Representative for the Marigot
Constituency Hon. Edison James said the United Workers
Party is pleased that 2 of the petitions examined in
court were successful. He said however; that it is
regrettable that with respect to the other matters
particularly alleged bribery and access to state media
the judge did not allow the opportunity for these
matters to be fully articulated in a full trial when the
detailed evidence would have been presented. He said the
ruling exposes even more forcefully the absolute need
for electoral reform particularly with respect to the
use of ID cards and the cleansing of the list. Meantime
in respect to information being revealed about alleged
shady practices by the Dominica PM Roosevelt Skerrit and
the current DLP government, Investigative Journalist
Lennox Linton says he shares with those who want to be
informed the ‘truths’ that he has been able to uncover
and says he will continue to do so.
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The Eastern Caribbean Civil Aviation confirms that it
has approved night landing at Dominica’s main airport
Reporter:
Kimberly Benjamin-
Friday August 27 2010
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The Eastern Caribbean Civil Aviation Authority has
confirmed that it has approved night landing at
Dominica’s main airport. The approval follows a series
of test flights at the island’s airport. The absence of
night landing has long been identified as a major
hindrance to the development of Dominica’s tourism
industry. The government recently completed a major
upgrade of the Melville Hall airport located in the
North East of the island to address the problem. That
project included extending the runway and installing
landing lights. Now the Eastern Caribbean civil aviation
authority says the airport is ready for night landing.
The Ag Director General Donald McField said that
government should have received the official approval
yesterday. Mr McField said that that approval would be
granted in 3 phases. A series of test flights have
already been conducted and following one search
operation last week Regional Carrier LIAT said it
identified several concerns that needed to be reviewed
by the regulatory authorities. Mr McField said the Civil
aviation authority is satisfied that all the conditions
have been met. He also said that night landing could
begin soon. Ports Minister Rayburn Blackmoore has
welcomed the decision saying it is a significant
achievement for the island.
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A Dominica judge rules that the PM must stand trial over
his dual citizenship
Reporter: Kimberly Benjamin-
Friday August 27 2010
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There were 2 major court rulings in Dominica yesterday
arising out of a challenge to the results of last
December’s general election. In the first instance the
court threw out petitions by the Opposition UWP
contesting the results in 5 constituencies. The judge
said the party was on a fishing expedition in its
charges of bribery against the governing Labor Party.
The court also rejected the UWP’s claims about the
miscounting of votes and its argument that it was
unfairly denied access to the state owned radio station
and Government information service ahead of the
elections. The UWP leader Ron Green said he was
disappointed by the judgment. But there was one ruling
which could have serious repercussions for the governing
party. The court found that there was sufficient
evidence to proceed to trial after the UWP challenged
the eligibility of PM Roosevelt Skerrit to contest the
polls along with that of his Education Minister Peter St
Jean owing to their dual nationality. This means
Dominica is set to witness its PM facing the courts over
the subject of his dual citizenship and in a worst case
scenario he could be disqualified from the government.
Former Ag Chief Justice of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme
Court Sir Brian Alleyne said while it’s a major
development for Dominica, it shouldn’t be that
surprising. Sir Alleyne says that PM Roosevelt Skerrit
does in fact stand a chance of losing. Mr Skerrit did
admit having French Nationality but he said he got it as
a child and he didn’t swear allegiance to it as an
adult. The court found that argument insufficient.
Meantime, Legal affairs minister Ian Douglas said he
welcomed the decision on bribery. Mr Douglas said he was
confident that the dual citizenship case would also be
resolved in the government’s favor, and so did Attorney
General Francine Baron-Royer.
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Education professionals happy with 2010 CXC Exams
results Reporter:
Kimberly Benjamin- Friday
August 27 2010
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Education officials in Dominica are pleased with the
results of the 2010 CXC Exams.
The results show a 76.4% pass for Dominica, an
improvement of 4.4% over the last year.
Chief Education Officer Steve Hyacinth says the results
show that teachers are making a greater effort with
their students.
Mr Hyacinth said for the first time 9 out of 15
secondary schools are featured on list of top performing
students as compared to 6 schools in 2009. The results
show an increase in the number of grade 1 passes from
11% last year to 14% this year and an increase in grade
2 passes from 28% to 31% this year.
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Dominica embarking on a program to increase its
specialist doctors Reporter:
Kimberly Benjamin- Friday
August 27 2010
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Dominica is embarking on a program to increase the
number of its specialist doctors. Health minister Julius
Timothy says plans are underway to seal funding to aid
the practitioners to pursue studies abroad by as early
as January next year.
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Waitukubuli National Trail Project (WNTP) to conduct
Summer Adventure & Hike Event this coming Sunday
Reporter:
Kimberly Benjamin-
Friday August 27 2010
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Discover Dominica Authority and the Waitukubuli National
Trail Project (WNTP) will announce the official opening
for the first two segments of the
Waitukubuli National Trail at their
Summer Adventure and Hike Event, Sunday, August 29.
Once completed, the Waitukubuli National Trail (WNT)
will be the first and only walking trail that traverses
the entire Caribbean island. The trail will run from the
south to the north, with a distance of 115 miles. It
will be divided into 14 different segments with levels
varying from easy family hikes to longer and more
challenging hikes. Each trail will offer breathtaking
views of Dominica’s unspoiled nature, pristine
waterfalls and lush rainforests. The event will
highlight on-going work of the WNTP, feature a series of
activities including hiking events for children and
adults, the unveiling of the first billboard promoting
the WNTP and will end with a closing ceremony by the
WNTP Project Management Unit.
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Regional News |
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Wyclef blasts officials
www.bbccaribbean.com -
Friday August 27 2010 |
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Hip hop star Wyclef Jean has released a new song
blasting Haitian officials for rejecting his
presidential bid. Haitian-born Jean posted the song on
his blog and promoted it on Thursday via social
networking site, Twitter. It's called 'Prison for the
CEP', referring to the electoral commission, which did
not approve his candidacy for the 28 November poll. Jean
also criticises President Rene Preval in the Creole
song. Wyclef Jean has already announced plans to appeal
the electoral council's decision. This is the latest
step in his campaign to be allowed to contest the
election.
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Anchor babies
www.bbccaribbean.com -
Friday August 27 2010 |
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A new report published by the Washington-based liberal
think tank, the Council on Hemispheric Affairs, suggests
that undocumented Caribbean migrants in the United
States will have to wait much longer for favourable
immigration reform. The Republican party and other
groups have stepped up their anti-immigration rhetoric
and now are calling for a scrapping of the law which
grants citizenship to children born in the US to illegal
immigrants. They say the provision is being abused, and
have coined a derogatory term, "anchor babies", to
describe those children.
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Danielle surges ahead
www.bbccaribbean.com -
Friday August 27 2010 |
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Forecasters say that Hurricane Danielle strengthened
early Friday to a Category 4 hurricane in the Atlantic.
The system has maximum sustained winds of 135 miles per
hour. Forecasters say dangerous surf conditions are
expected in Bermuda,though the eye will likely move well
east of the island on Saturday night. Further out in the
Atlantic, tropical storm Earl is was moving west and is
expected to reach hurricane status by Saturday. On the
current forecast the storm is expected to skirt the
northeastern Caribbean islands, including Puerto Rico,
over the weekend, then turn north like Danielle.
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