SANTIAGO, Chile – The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) says its Acting Executive Secretary Mario Cimoli and the European Union (EU) High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, have underscored the importance of strengthening and deepening their ties of bi-regional cooperation in the complex global context caused by the armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – Caribbean Community (CARICOM) leaders were on Wednesday meeting with a delegation from the United States House Committee on Financial Service aimed at reversing the damage caused by decades of loss of corresponding banking, de-risking and deteriorating financial access.

Power in Puerto Rico was restored on Sunday after an island-wide outage impacted some 1.5 million people, according to the company that manages its power grid.

HAVANA, Cuba – Dominica’s Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit was awarded the Order of Jose Marti on Tuesday night, noting that the Cuban revolution is no longer one of guns but one of ideas, “which seeks to elevate the dominant principle of our world as the dignity of the human person”.

KINGSTON, Jamaica– The Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN) will be commencing Jamaica’s 15th National Population and Housing Census in September.

ST. JOHN’S, Antigua – Prime Minister Gaston Browne has confirmed that he has tested positive for the coronavirus but that he is “feeling fine” and has little nasal congestion.

KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent – Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves says Venezuela has agreed to cancel St. Vincent and the Grenadines’ debt under PetroCaribe, its oil initiative with Latin American and Caribbean countries.

KINGSTON, Jamaica – President Paul Kagame has called for solidarity among African and Caribbean countries saying that they must together to advance their common positions and interests globally.

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – The Caribbean Nations Security Conference (CANSEC) got underway here on Wednesday, with Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley urging closer collaboration in dealing with new areas of conflict such as climate change and the use of technology as a major contributor to cyber-related criminal activities.

GEORGETOWN, Guyana – Deputy Secretary-General of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), Dr. Armstrong Alexis says CARICOM countries do not have structures, policies and resources to effectively cushion the impact from any major disaster through emergency relief grants or unemployment payments.

KINGSTON, Jamaica – Jamaica has recorded 405 murders so far this year, the same figure for the corresponding period last year, according to figures released by the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF).

KINGSTON, Jamaica – Jamaica has received remittance inflows exceeding US$3.3 billion last year, representing an increase over the US$2.9 billion over the previous year, Minister of State in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Leslie Campbell, has said.