WEATHER

For those with a deeper vision of Caribbean integration and the potential efficacy of conglomeration in this region, today marks an important milestone in this process. This afternoon, at the University of the West Indies, Mona campus, the leaders of six member states of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) - Jamaica, Barbados, Belize, Guyana, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago - will formally affix their signatures to a declaration heralding the launch of the Caricom Single Market, which is to be the first step towards creating a seamless regional market and economy. Six other countries of Caricom's 15 member states are expected to come onboard by the end of March. More

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We suggested prior to the vote that Jamaica and her partners in the Caribbean Community needed to pay close attention to last week's general election in Canada.
Now, we feel it of even greater importance that they pay attention to its outcome and follow closely how events unfold in Ottawa. For it is a time of great uncertainty for a partner which this region could trust implicitly. Unfortunately, in recent times trust, especially in one significant and important circumstance, was placed under severe stress. There have, of course, been attempts to repair that relationship. With a new government in Ottawa, though, the Caribbean has good reason to be circumspect about how events will unfold. More

Before an audience of military officers, diplomats, and government representatives from Belize and Guatemala, this morning the Organization of American States Adjacency Zone Office officially handed over global positioning system and radio communication equipment to the Belize Defence Force and the Guatemalan Army. The donation itself is valued at five thousand dollars, but commanders of the Belizean and Guatemalan armed forces agree that the instruments will go a long way to making joint patrols along the border successful. More

In 2005 international tourism sustained the sharp upturn that began in 2004 in spite of the various tragic events it had to contend. According to preliminary results presented today by the United Nations specialized agency, the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) the number of international tourist arrivals recorded worldwide grew by 5.5% and exceeded 800 million for the first time ever. More

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