If Windward leaders do not intervene in Banana dispute there will be severe repercussions 
By Tyrella Alexander- Tuesday 13th May 2008

Lawyer, Anthony Astaphan says there will be severe repercussions, if governments of the Windward Islands do not intervene in the banana dispute, between the Windward Island Banana Development and Exporting Company (WIBDECO), and banana companies in the region. According to Mr Astaphan, a high level meeting called by Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit to help resolve the issue, was cancelled by St. Lucia’s Prime Minister Stephenson King. Astaphan is representing the DBPL and the St. Lucia Banana Corporation (SLBC). Mr Astaphan says the matter should be resolved by the leaders and minister of these countries.            

PDM sympathizes with China in light of massive earthquake     
By Tyrella Alexander- Tuesday 13th May 2008 

The Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM) is sympathizing with the government and people of the Peoples Republic of China in light a massive earthquake which struck that country yesterday. The 7.8 magnitude quake occurred in Southwest China. According to the BBC, the death toll is now more than 12,000.  William Riviere is Political Leader of the PDM. The earthquake has been described as one of the most powerful in decades. According to the BBC, thousands of people are still trapped beneath ruined buildings. Q95 understands that Dominican students in China have not been physically affected by the quake.      

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Carib Chief says steps must be taken to preserve Carib race         By Jozef Faddoul- Tuesday 13th May 2008 

Carib Chief Charles Williams is concerned the Carib population in Dominica is dying out. He emphasizes that the Carib Territory must be protected and preserved, and calls on members of the public who are not Caribs, to avoid settling in the Carib Territory. “I have no problems with people who have their spouses, but when it comes to settling in the Carib Territory, let us respect the lives of the Kalinago people.” He said: “We would like as many Kalinago people to pair up so that we can multiply the race, because it is definitely dying out.”   

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Initiatives underway under National Security, Labor and Immigration Ministry                                                                     By Merville Defoe- Tuesday 13th May 2008   

A number of projects and initiatives will be undertaken under the Ministry for National Security, Labor and Immigration. At a press conference recently, the Minister responsible Rayburn Blackmoore, outlined a few of those projects being undertaken. He said all the police stations are now equipped with vehicles, the immigration department is now being computerized to have a centralized system and the State Prison will be upgraded with systems to ensure proper record keeping. He said the living conditions of Police Officers at Morne Bruce will soon be addressed. A press briefing on National Security is expected to be called by the Minister in due course.     

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Huggins announces Delay in arrival of generators   
By Jozef Faddoul- Tuesday 13th May 2008 

General Manager of The Dominica Electricity Services Limited (DOMLEC) announces a delay in the arrival of three (3) Medium Speed Generators. The company had announced last year, its intention to purchase the equipment, which would have been put at the Fond Cole Power Station. According to Mr Huggins, the generators were expected to be installed by June of this year. “We thought those units would be installed and running by June of this year. The suppliers said they have issues with the engineering of that supply.” He says the issue was discussed at a recent board meeting, and the company has taken a decision, as to the next move it will take.  

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Kalinagoes urged to get into agriculture   
By Jozef Faddoul- Tuesday 13th May 2008 

The Kalinago People are being urged to be more involved in agriculture. Carib Chief, Charles Williams has made that call. He believes it is high time that the Carib people play their role in boosting Dominica’s agricultural industry. He urged farmers to be more serious about farming, especially as world food prices increase. “Food is in fact getting expensive and food always has a market regionally. I think we should take advantage of that opportunity and make Dominica and the Carib Territory, the bread basket of the Caribbean region.”      

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Government to send Police Officers to study in China      
By Merville Defoe- Tuesday 13th May 2008  

Minister for National Security Rayburn Blackmoore has disclosed that government will be sending a number of local police officers to China. He told a news conference recently that the Dominica Police Force is currently short of Police Officers, nevertheless a few will be sent to study. “We were first short of thirty three officers. The establishment calls for forty four. We shall be sending ten to twenty police officers to China shortly.”           

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Twelve named storms predicted for this hurricane season
caribbeannetnews.com - Tuesday 13th May 2008    

The 2008 Atlantic hurricane season will be near average in the number of storms, but there is a higher risk of a destructive storm hitting the US East Coast, AccuWeather.com predicted on Monday. Joe Bastardi, AccuWeather's chief long-range and hurricane forecaster, said in an updated forecast he expects a total of 12 named storms in the 2008 Atlantic hurricane season. Two or three of the named storms would likely affect energy production areas in the Gulf of Mexico, which produces 25 percent of US domestic crude oil and 15 percent of domestic natural gas, Bastardi said. "Every three years there's usually one major storm in the Gulf," Bastardi said in an interview in Houston. A weakening La Nina weather anomaly in the Pacific Ocean and near-normal or below-normal water temperatures in most of the tropical breeding grounds of the Atlantic Ocean off the African Coast "will reduce the overall number of storms," Bastardi said.

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Jamaica and Guyana leaders to meet to resolve rice dispute
caribbeannetnews.com - Tuesday 13th May 2008 

Guyana’s president Bharrat Jagdeo and Jamaica’s Prime Minister Bruce Golding are to meet shortly and discuss the current rice impasse between the two countries and report on the outcome to CARICOM‘s secretary general Edwin Carrington. This decision was taken at the just-concluded Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED) meeting in Antigua. The rice issue between the two countries came to the forefront after Guyana had opposed Jamaica’s request for a suspension of the Common External Tariff (CET) to import rice from extra-regional sources, on the basis that it could supply Jamaica’s demand for the commodity. However, Jamaica’s need for an emergency stock of rice and Guyana’s ability to supply the commodity were highlighted by trade ministers.    

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Chavez nationalises biggest steelmaker
caribbeannetnews.com - Tuesday 13th May 2008 

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Monday nationalized the country's biggest steelmaker Ternium-Sidor, which is majority owned by Argentina's Techint. Chavez signed the decree after announcing last month he would nationalize the company, which employs around 12,000 workers, following a breakdown in union contract talks. "Today marks the beginning of a historic new era," Chavez told workers at the Ternium-Sidor steel mill in Ciudad Guyana, 500 kilometers (310 miles) southeast of Caracas. "Here, beside these furnaces in the middle of Siderurgica del Orinoco (Sidor steel company), I have enacted the law by which we reclaim steel making," he told hundreds of company employees. Chavez set a June 30 deadline for transfer of all Ternium-Sidor assets to the government.

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