15-y-o charged with murder of public servant

CASTRIES, St Lucia (CMC):

St. Lucia police have arrested and charged a 15-year-old youth in connection with the murder of senior public servant Marcia Philbert-Jules who was found lying in a pool of blood at her residence at Grand Riviere, north of here on Monday.

Police said that Philbert-Jules, the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Planning and Development, had been stabbed several times and died shortly after being admitted to hospital.

'Shed no tears for Bush immigration bill'

NEW YORK (CMC):

A Jamaican-born legislator says Caribbean immigrants should "shed no tears" over the death of an immigration reform bill that had the backing of President George W. Bush.

New York State Assemblyman Nick Perry told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) that he was relieved that the bill collapsed in the U.S. Senate.

"This bill was unfriendly to immigrants and their families, un-American, and seriously defective," said the assemblyman, who represents the largely Caribbean, 58th Assembly District in Brooklyn.

Gonsalves, Eustace still against homosexuality

KINGSTOWN, St Vincent (CMC):

Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves and Opposition Leader Arnhim Eustace on Thursday declared their support for the death penalty and the continued criminalisation of homosexuality, in a rare meeting of minds.

Dr. Gonsalves told Parliament that the death penalty is needed as a deterrent to would-be murderers but lamented that the Court of Appeal and the Privy Council "have taken the teeth" out of the punishment.

"It is very difficult to hang somebody now, with the deadlines and the way the process is going now; they have practically made it impossible," Dr. Gonsalves said.

"I have made it plain that the provision in the new constitution - that I want it to be so tightened that the judges will find it very difficult to get around them for us to impose the death penalty".

Currently, St. Vincent and the Grenadines is in the process of instituting a new constitution, which is expected to go through all its stages of negotiations, review and referendum by 2009.

Dr. Gonsalves also stated his resolve not to bow to pressure to decriminalise homosexual acts.

"While I know that homosexuals are children of God and I have nothing against them as children of God I will not be involved in changing the laws as they exist in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Someone else can do that," Dr. Gonsalves said.

Eustace responded to the Prime Minister's statement by making it clear that he, too, fully supported the death penalty as a form of punishment for capital murder. He said he was also against the decriminalisation of homosexuality in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

St Vincent PM reacts to Grenada court ruling

KINGSTOWN, St Vincent (CMC):

Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves says Grenadians must abide by the law following the re-sentencing of 13 people convicted for murdering that island's first left wing prime minister Maurice Bishop in 1983.

High Court judge, Francis Belle, ruled that Lester Redhead, Christopher Stroude and Cecil Prime Redhead, who were all given 30-year jail terms, should be released immediately, while the other 10 men, including Coard, serve 40 years hard labour on their murder convictions, clearing the way for them to be freed within three years.

In his ruling Justice Belle also recommended that the health of John Ventour and Colville McBarnette should be reviewed by the Prison Board during a six and 12-month period.

Air transportation, CSME hot CARICOM topics

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (CMC):

The launch of the Single Economy aspect of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Single Market and Economy (CSME) and the bothersome question of regional air transport will be among the focal points of the upcoming CARICOM Heads of Government conference, Secretary General Edwin Carrington has revealed.

Carrington told members of the media that regional leaders attending the 28th meeting of the CARICOM Heads of Government conference at the Hilton Hotel here will seek to leave the July 1-4 summit with a clear agreement on the path forward for the much-touted Regional Development Fund (RDF), a key element of the CSME.

He said "broadening the burden" of providing efficient regional air transportation services and seeking to reduce the high cost of intra regional transport, which has bothered several Caribbean leaders and tourism departments, was also expected to be squarely addressed at the summit.

Business group wants improved port security

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad (CMC):

The Trinidad and Tobago Manufacturers Association (TTMA) has called on the Government to increase security at the seaports following the seizure of TT$35 million (US$5.8 million) worth of cocaine in a container last weekend.

"The discovery highlights the need for increased security measures, and stringent screening of all containers entering and leaving the country's ports of entry," the TTMA said in a statement.

It said that while the Government's 360 degree radar system may be effective in detecting goods coming in by pirogue and other small craft, "illegal items including guns and drugs coming into the country are not being picked up on this system.

Warning of challenges in migrant labour

POINTE A PITRE, Guadeloupe (CMC):

The importation of immigrant labour into the Caribbean will pose a challenge to regional countries, University of the West Indies lecturer Akhentoolove Corbin has cautioned.

The Management Studies lecturer at the Cave Hill Campus of the University of the West Indies said human resources professionals must be aware of the changing nature of labour in the region brought on by the importation of workers, especially from China and Malaysia.

Addressing delegates attending the 3rd Tourism Human Resources Conference here, Corbin said migrant workers posed challenges for Caribbean employers and human resource managers, especially those in the English-speaking Caribbean.

'Grenada 13' not appealing decision

ST GEORGE'S, Grenada (CMC):

Attorneys representing 13 members of the 'Grenada 17' who were re-sentenced by a High Court judge here Wednesday said they will not be appealing the court's decision.

Edward Fitzgerald Q.C., the lead defence attorney, said while his clients did not give the team any instructions to appeal the judgement which saw three of the convicted men being freed and the remaining 10 being sentenced to terms due to end in 2010, there were still some other matters to be cleared up.