Prime Minister, Kamla Persad-Bissessar made the statement in response to the invitation by Panamanian President, H.E. Ricardo Alberto Martinelli Berrocal at the opening of the second Caribbean Investment Forum. It was held at the Hilton Hotel on Monday.

Berrocal said he has already held talks with CAL and has requested that CAL conduct direct flights into Panama.

Persad-Bissessar said the new south south connection would make it easier to fly to Central and South America.

“In order to travel South we had to travel North, thanks to Panama and COPA and finding a new way of flying to the South. So when we go to Brazil, when we go to other American countries, we fly through Panama. And now we thank for the offer for Caribbean Airlines to fly direct to Panama, as we will be able to penetrate Central America, South America without having to travel North to come back down South.”

“I do believe that Trinidad and Tobago has a tremendous amount to benefit from our friendship with the President of Panama and the Government of Panama,” Persad-Bissessar added.

Persad-Bissessar added that “indeed, tomorrow I leave for Belize for the Commonwealth Local Government Forum” she added that she would have to travel to Miami and what should have taken her a few hours she would spend a day and a night getting to Belize.

Mexico’s President, Felipe Calderon, is expected to lead a high-powered delegation to the one-day summit, which will also bring together regional Heads from the 15 CARICOM nations.

Prime Minister Freundel Stuart, President Calderon and the current Chairman of CARICOM, President Desiré Bouterse, of Suriname, are expected to address the opening ceremony, which is scheduled to take place on Monday at 10:00 a.m. at the Hilton Hotel.

CARICOM leaders are also expected to discuss a number of pressing issues, including tourism, trade and investment and technical cooperation. They will also deliberate how to exchange ideas on the Inter-American system; and the identification of means by which CARICOM and Mexico could collaborate in hemispheric multilateral fora such as the Organization of American States (OAS) and the recently constituted Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC). Another key agenda item will be next month’s United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD) Rio+20 in Brazil.

Convening the summit is representative of Mexico’s ongoing commitment to fostering South-South cooperation and hemispheric collaboration.

Mexico assumed the Presidency of the Group of 20 (G20) earlier this year and will also take the opportunity to brief CARICOM Heads of Government on its strategic vision for the G20, as part of its overall goal to establish a forum in which open and constructive dialogue may be facilitated.

Barbados and its CARICOM partners have identified Mexico as one of the Latin American states with which closer relations should be encouraged as a means of increasing economic activity.

Mexico has the second largest economy in Latin America and is a major oil producer and exporter. It has been listed as an emerging market, which, along with Britain, Russia, India and China (countries of the BRICS) and Vietnam, Indonesia, South Africa, Turkey and Argentina (VISTA groups), has the potential to be ranked among the world’s largest economies in the next three decades. Mexico is considered to have an excellent outlook for investment and future economic growth.

It is envisaged that ongoing dialogue fostered by regional meetings with other countries could assist CARICOM in developing as a unified entity, with a shared regional foreign policy strategy.

Monday’s summit will be a precursor to the 42nd General Assembly of the OAS.

At the first CARICOM- Mexico Summit in February 2010, Heads examined such issues as: support for Haiti in the aftermath of the January 12 earthquake; boosting trade and growth across the region; protecting and developing tourism; boosting regional security, and tackling climate change.

In early April, in response to Burmese government pledges of reform and electoral gains by Burma’s main opposition party, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced that the US government was prepared to relax certain business-related sanctions. A presidential order restricting business activities in Burma expires on May 20. A new order easing those restrictions is expected to be issued soon.

“The US government should not reward the Burmese government’s nascent and untested changes by allowing an unregulated business bonanza,” said John Sifton, Asia advocacy director at Human Rights Watch. “Tough rules are needed to ensure that new investments benefit the people of Burma and don’t fuel human rights abuses and corruption, or end up strengthening the military’s control over civilian authorities.”

In two recent joint letters to President Barack Obama and his senior advisers, Human Rights Watch and other organizations expressed concern that the administration would lift business-related sanctions before progress was made on key reform efforts. The groups noted that a current US Treasury Department list of “Special Designated Nationals”­– people and companies implicated in human rights abuses in Burma with whom American companies are banned from doing business – had not been updated for at least three years, and needed to be corrected based on new developments.

“The US government shouldn’t lift investment restrictions unless it first updates the Treasury Department list,” Sifton said. “Otherwise US companies could end up going into business with human rights abusers.”

Secretary Clinton, when she announced plans for a “targeted easing” of sanctions in early April, pledged that, “Sanctions and prohibitions will stay in place on individuals and institutions that remain on the wrong side of [Burma’s] historic reform efforts.”

Undertaking business in Burma raises a variety of human rights related risk factors, Human Rights Watch said. These include: weak rule of law and a judiciary lacking independence, the military’s extensive involvement in the economy as well as its use of forced labor and other abusive practices in connection with providing security for business operations, poor regulation and enforcement of labor and environmental laws, widespread corruption, and the mismanagement of public funds. The Burmese government is dominated by the military, which under Burma’s constitution enjoys legal supremacy over civilian authorities.

Human Rights Watch called on the US government to develop and impose binding, enforceable rules prior to permitting new business activities by American companies. In developing appropriate safeguards, the government should hold more extensive consultations with nongovernmental groups inside and outside Burma.

In April, the European Union announced a “suspension” of sanctions for one year. The suspension is likely to be permanent since reimposing sanctions would require consensus from every EU member country, which is highly unlikely given the new business opportunities, Human Rights Watch said. Other governments, including Australia, Canada, and Switzerland, have also announced in recent weeks that they would remove sanctions. Some governments have called for businesses to engage responsibly but none have mandated binding standards.

“It’s not sound policy to relax sanctions just because other countries are doing so,” Sifton said. “The U.S. has led the international community in pressuring Burma to reform and it should continue to do so.

Specific recommendations to the US Government
Human Rights Watch identified several key elements for business standards in Burma that should be featured in any US decision to relax sanctions:

A careful, calibrated approach featuring the gradual and select easing of sanctions tied to concrete progress on reform in Burma and based on close consultation with nongovernmental groups inside and outside Burma.

Screening of investment and other business activities. Prior to allowing any American company to invest or otherwise engage in business in Burma, the US government should undertake pre-screening processes to review and approve proposed US business activity, taking into consideration its potential impact on human rights and armed conflict. Scrutiny should include activities that companies may carry out under contract for foreign or Burmese companies. Activities that entail a considerable risk of harmful impacts should not be permitted to proceed.

A prohibition on any business engaging directly or indirectly, with individuals or entities linked to human rights abuses, including the Burmese military and militias, the military’s private-sector allies, and state-owned businesses.

A prohibition on involvement in any activity that entails large-scale appropriation or leasing of land, whether from private or public entities.

An explicit requirement that companies respect human rights and undertake thorough due diligence procedures to prevent rights abuses and remedy them if they arise. Such requirements are consistent with accepted international standards reflected, for example, in the 2011 OECD Guidelines on Multinational Enterprises, and should be made binding for Burma. Among other elements, required procedures should include independent and transparent human rights impact assessments that address all relevant social and environmental concerns, as well as the preparation of human rights implementation or mitigation plans.

Imposition of binding measures to enforce all applicable obligations, subject to verification and with tough penalties for non-compliance, including fines and withdrawal of permission to invest in Burma.

Mandatory public reporting requirements for all companies permitted to do business in Burma, including the publication of social and environmental impact assessments, full contract transparency, and the timely and detailed disclosure of all payments made to the government of Burma.

An effective complaints mechanism accessible to individuals and communities in Burma and those representing them who allege harmful conduct or impacts by US companies investing or doing business in Burma, with findings and decisions binding on companies.

A requirement that companies affirm that they submit their activities in Burma to the legal jurisdiction of US courts, including activities involving subsidiaries or sub-contractors, or activities companies carry out as a contractor for another party. In addition, the US government should take all necessary steps to ensure that judicial avenues are available to provide recourse to victims and accountability for human rights violations.

Human Rights Watch highlighted several human rights-related risk factors for business in Burma, include the following:

The extensive role of the military and its closest business allies, who dominate many sectors of the economy and are more likely to benefit from new business deals than ordinary Burmese citizens.

The abysmal human rights record and absence of accountability of Burma’s security forces, which continue to carry out serious abuses in Kachin state and repression in other parts of the country. The military has a track record of using forced labor and engaging in illegal land confiscation, forced displacement, and unlawful use of force against villagers, among other serious abuses, in the context of clearing land and providing security for business projects.

Inadequate domestic regulation and enforcement on key issues such as environmental protection, resulting in business activity that has harmful consequences for human rights.

Persistent labor rights problems. Despite recent legislative reform efforts, serious labor rights problems persist in Burma, including forced labor in ethnic and conflict zones and sweatshop labor conditions in factories, including excessive hours, low wages, and health and safety violations.

Major tensions over the acquisition and use of land, which has been a flashpoint for forced evictions and other human rights abuses. Such problems are especially likely to arise in connection with extractives industries (oil, gas, and mining), major infrastructure projects (e.g., hydroelectric dams), timber, agribusiness and large-scale tourism projects.

Lack of community consultation, consent, or benefit in government-approved projects. Local communities in Burma have little or no say in how land and natural resources are used by businesses. Although these communities bear the costs of such projects, for example in terms of displacement and lost livelihoods, they have no effective means to secure adequate compensation or to ensure that the government channels the proceeds to promote socio-economic development and poverty alleviation. Recently passed laws such as the Farmland Bill, and the Vacant and Fallow Land Bill, fail to guarantee rights to land.

Opaque and unaccountable management of government revenues. The immense revenues Burma has generated from exports of natural gas, which are slated to rise dramatically once twin oil and gas pipelines to China are completed, have bypassed the national budget and fueled outsized spending on the military. Recent moves to bring those revenues on-budget and adjust spending priorities have been insufficient. Despite modest increases in social spending, health and education still receive a minimal share of the budget, while spending on the military, down as a percentage, is up overall.

Rampant corruption. The country is tied with Afghanistan for the second-worst ranking in the 2011 Transparency International Corruption Perception Index. Only North Korea and Somalia fared worse.

HRW

The film has been selected by renowned international programmer Danny Lennon to screen at Telefilm Canada’s Not Short on Talent program representing Canada’s newest cinematic voices, in the Cannes Markets’ international short film showcase. For more information about Canadian films at Cannes:http://www.canada-cannes2012.ca

Harnarine remarked, “It’s the dream of any filmmaker to screen at Cannes, so I’m especially proud to be given this prestigious opportunity. I hope that this will spotlight the talent of everyone involved in this production, especially the actors.”

Shot entirely on location in Trinidad and Tobago, comprising a local cast including famed Trinidadian actor, Errol Sitahal and first timer Sanjiv Boodhu as well as Susan Abraham-Hannays, “Doubles with Slight Pepper” is a poignant story which explores the changing relationship between a father and son. The local crew included sound recordist, Cedric Smart, gaffer Leroy Smart, boom operator Richard Gobin, producer Jason Harnarine and associate producer Mariel Brown. “Doubles with Slight Pepper” was also the recipient of a Spike Lee grant and a Trinidad and Tobago Film Company PASD post-production grant.

SHORT SYNOPSIS
In rural Trinidad, Dhani struggles to support himself and his mother by selling doubles. When his estranged father returns from Canada unexpectedly, Dhani must decide if he will help save his father’s life despite their strained relationship.

For more information on the film Click Here.

From the TIFF Jury
“Through the humble but moving story of a family in crisis, this film expresses truths that resonate in Canada and around the world. It is the debut of an exciting new voice from whom we hope to see a great deal more.”

DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT
Doubles With Slight Pepper is not an autobiographical story, but it was conceived during the recent experience of my Father’s terminal illness. In the latter days of his life, he became a person that was completely different from the man that I knew. It was like meeting a stranger for the first time. I began to wonder what it would have been like to have never known a Father until his final days. Is there an intrinsic affinity between a Father and Son that cannot be destroyed? What could test this fundamentally human relationship? These questions inspired me as I investigated the dynamic between Father and Son. I also wanted to challenge the clichés of the standard immigrant story, by having a character that has failed in his new country and returned home. The film is set on the Caribbean island of Trinidad – my familial home. Even though the country boasts a distinctive food, language and music, it is my hope that the emotions of the film resonate with a universal audience. Above all, the movie is a tribute to my Father, who passed away before he could see it.

Writer/Director/Producer Ian Harnarine is available for media requests at 646-591-3113 or harnarine@gmail.com

The AmeriCares Haiti team is scaling up efforts in response to the epidemic. Cholera has been difficult to control in Haiti because it spreads rapidly, especially in communities with poor sanitation and limited access to clean water. Most cholera patients can be quickly treated with oral rehydration salts and will survive, but the most severe cases require immediate use of IV fluids to counteract their rapid dehydration. Without treatment, the most seriously ill cholera patients can die in as little as 10 or 12 hours.

“Cholera is most deadly at the start of the rainy season when it catches unprepared communities off-guard. In some rural areas with limited access to medicines and treatment supplies, you see fatality rates as high as 15 percent,” said AmeriCares medical director Dr Frank Bia, an infectious disease expert. “This emergency shipment will allow doctors and nurses to begin infusing patients with lifesaving IV fluids the moment they arrive. With proper treatment we can get fatality rates below 1 percent.”

AmeriCares immediately began replenishing the medicines and supplies in its Port-au-Prince warehouse upon learning 77 new cholera cases a day were reported in early March. The latest shipment to combat the epidemic includes IV fluids donated by Baxter International Inc. and Hospira.

AmeriCares has delivered more than 230,000 cholera treatments since the epidemic began, supplying 189 cholera treatment facilities throughout the country – both government hospitals and clinics as well as private facilities providing charitable care. AmeriCares alone contributed about one-third of the lactated Ringer’s solution distributed to fight the epidemic. AmeriCares has also delivered medicines, oral rehydration salts, hand sanitizer, soap, water purification tablets, disinfectant and other hygiene products to help prevent the spread of the disease, and supported cholera prevention training for 100,000 people.

AmeriCares opened an office and warehouse in Port-au-Prince after a massive outpouring of support from donors following the January 12, 2010 earthquake. In the first two years following the disaster, AmeriCares delivered more than $54 million in aid to the island nation, including aid for the recent cholera epidemic. The organization sends more than 300 shipments a year to Haiti – an average of one shipment a day – to health care facilities throughout the country.

“We regard this criminal action as a terrorist attack, not only against this company, but also against the right of all American citizens to travel to Cuba and, particularly, to share time with and to help their families,” read a statement signed by groups including the Alianza Martiana, the Antonio Maceo Brigade, the Jose Marti Association, the Bolivarian Circle of Miami, and the Association of Christian Women in Defense of the Family, among others.

“Terrorist actions like this one violate democracy,” added the text, which urges the US government to lift all Cuba travel bans and calls on local and federal authorities to conduct a swift and thorough investigation that can lead to bringing a prosecution against the culprits.

“As long as terrorists walk the streets of Miami as free men, actions like this one will continue to be perpetrated by them or by others who think and act like them,” the statement warned.

After pointing out that neither congresspersons nor any other elected public servants of the state of Florida have condemned the attack, the document adds that it must be done as soon as possible because the situation is “truly disgraceful.”

“I thought we had moved past the era of terrorist acts,” said Airline Brokers owner Vivian Mannerud, referring to the 1970s and 1980s, when Miami was the scene of politically motivated arson attacks and car-bombings targeting perceived Cuba government sympathizers and people doing business with the Caribbean nation.

Mannerud, who has been active in several humanitarian campaigns in Cuba and Haiti, played a major role in helping the Miami archdiocese organize the trip by more than 300 pilgrims to Cuba to take part in Pope Benedict XVI’s three-day visit last month.

Airline Brokers is one of a number of charter companies that fly to Cuba from airports in Miami, as well as a growing number of other US cities, including Tampa, New York and Los Angeles, under special Treasury Department licenses.

Mannerud said her company has seven flights a week from Miami and Fort Lauderdale. Despite losing all the office computers, she said she planned to continue taking bookings, adding that the company’s Cuba flight schedule would not be affected.

In a statement, the WB said its board of directors agreed on Wednesday to finance the project that will cover all Yemeni governorates and aims to create 120,000 jobs and high-value public infrastructure assets for the poor.

The Yemen Labor Intensive Public Works Project, the fourth in a series of similar endeavors, is designed for both maximum impact and inclusion.

The statement pointed to the Yemen’s high need for basic infrastructure services, saying “requests have already been received.” A diverse selection of such projects will be implemented in areas such as health, education, water supply and harvesting, sewage disposal, road paving and vocational training.

The selection process for the sub-projects will be transparent, with identification of sub-projects by the beneficiary community followed by submission of projects to a steering committee and International Development Association (IDA) for review and approval.

The WB hailed the improvement of the public works projects’ performance in Yemen over the last 15 years, saying the projects are small scale, community driven and use local labor and materials.

This small scale allows them to reach into Yemen’s highly dispersed and remote communities. There is now a well-established and experienced Yemeni government Project Management Unit, which provides continuous monitoring and evaluation of realistic and achievable performance indicators.

The Bank stressed that the community infrastructure will form the largest component of the new project, with about US$59 million allocated to about 440 sub-projects. These will be identified at the community level in cooperation with non-governmental organizations, concerned sector ministries, the relevant governor’s office and project officials. With an ongoing focus on remote areas with high poverty rates, almost 80% all of sub-projects will be implemented in rural areas.

“We strongly condemn the murder of Regina Martinez, and are concerned that this disturbing trend of murdering media workers … undermines the exercise of freedom of expression in the country,” said a spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), Rupert Colville, at a press conference in Geneva.

“We call for a thorough independent investigation into this and other similar cases, and urge the Government to immediately implement protection measures for journalists,” he said.

Mr. Colville also welcomed yesterday’s passing, by the Mexican Congress, of two new laws designed to protect journalists and human rights defenders. The new laws are known as the General Victims Act and the Law for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders and Journalists.

During a visit to Mexico last year, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, emphasized the importance of passing that legislation after meeting with victims and relatives of murdered human rights activists and journalists.

UN

“All newborns are vulnerable, but preterm babies are acutely so,” says Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, who wrote the foreword to the report, entitled Born Too Soon: The Global Action Report on Preterm Birth.

The report points out that more than one million preterm babies die shortly after birth, while countless others suffer some type of lifelong physical, neurological, or educational disability, often at great cost to families and society.

It adds that an estimated three quarters of the preterm babies who die could survive without expensive care if a few proven and inexpensive treatments and preventions were available worldwide.

“Being born too soon is an unrecognized killer,” says the co-editor of the report and Director of Global Evidence and Policy for Save the Children, Joy Lawn, “Preterm births account for almost half of all newborn deaths worldwide and are now the second leading cause of death in children under five, after pneumonia.”

The report was produced by The March of Dimes Foundation, The Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health, Save the Children and the World Health Organization (WHO), with contributions from over 100 experts, representing almost 40 UN agencies, universities and organizations.

It contains new figures showing the magnitude of the problem and the disparities between countries. Of the 11 countries with preterm birth rates over 15 per cent, all but two are in sub-Saharan Africa.

Preterm births account for 11.1 per cent of the world’s live births, 60 per cent of them in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. In the poorest countries, on average, 12 per cent of babies are born too soon, compared to nine per cent in higher-income countries.

The problem of preterm births is not confined to low-income countries, according to the report. The United States and Brazil both rank among the top ten countries with the highest number of preterm births. In the US, for example, about 12 per cent – or more than one in nine of all births – are preterm.

The countries with the greatest numbers of preterm births are India (3,519,100), China (1,172,300), Nigeria (773,600), Pakistan (748,100), Indonesia (675,700), US (517,400), Bangladesh (424,100), Philippines (348,900), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (341,400), and Brazil (279,300). Those with the lowest rates of preterm births include Belarus, Ecuador, Latvia, Finland, Croatia, and Samoa.

In high-income countries, the increases in the number of preterm births are linked to the number of older women having babies, increased use of fertility drugs and resulting multiple pregnancies. Medically unnecessary inductions and Caesarean deliveries before full-term are also factors.

In many low-income countries, the main causes of preterm births include infections, malaria, HIV, and high adolescent pregnancy rates.

WHO’s Director of Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health, Elizabeth Mason, noted that a key way to reduce preterm births is to find ways to help all pregnancies go to full term, or 39 weeks.

“We are now looking closely at what can be done before a woman gets pregnant to help her have an optimal outcome,” said Dr. Mason, adding that poverty, women’s education, malaria and HIV all have an impact on the pregnancy and the health of the baby.

Born Too Soon: The Global Action Report on Preterm Birth recommends addressing the issue of missing essential medicines and equipment, training existing health staff in how to look after women in preterm labour and these vulnerable babies, increased funding for research to find new prevention solutions, and better data for accurate future counts.

It also offers an agenda and action plan for all groups concerned with preterm birth and child health, ranging from the UN and governments at all levels to donor countries to global philanthropic institutions and civil society.

UN

“All newborns are vulnerable, but preterm babies are acutely so,” says Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, who wrote the foreword to the report, entitled Born Too Soon: The Global Action Report on Preterm Birth.

The report points out that more than one million preterm babies die shortly after birth, while countless others suffer some type of lifelong physical, neurological, or educational disability, often at great cost to families and society.

It adds that an estimated three quarters of the preterm babies who die could survive without expensive care if a few proven and inexpensive treatments and preventions were available worldwide.

“Being born too soon is an unrecognized killer,” says the co-editor of the report and Director of Global Evidence and Policy for Save the Children, Joy Lawn, “Preterm births account for almost half of all newborn deaths worldwide and are now the second leading cause of death in children under five, after pneumonia.”

The report was produced by The March of Dimes Foundation, The Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health, Save the Children and the World Health Organization (WHO), with contributions from over 100 experts, representing almost 40 UN agencies, universities and organizations.

It contains new figures showing the magnitude of the problem and the disparities between countries. Of the 11 countries with preterm birth rates over 15 per cent, all but two are in sub-Saharan Africa.

Preterm births account for 11.1 per cent of the world’s live births, 60 per cent of them in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. In the poorest countries, on average, 12 per cent of babies are born too soon, compared to nine per cent in higher-income countries.

The problem of preterm births is not confined to low-income countries, according to the report. The United States and Brazil both rank among the top ten countries with the highest number of preterm births. In the US, for example, about 12 per cent – or more than one in nine of all births – are preterm.

The countries with the greatest numbers of preterm births are India (3,519,100), China (1,172,300), Nigeria (773,600), Pakistan (748,100), Indonesia (675,700), US (517,400), Bangladesh (424,100), Philippines (348,900), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (341,400), and Brazil (279,300). Those with the lowest rates of preterm births include Belarus, Ecuador, Latvia, Finland, Croatia, and Samoa.

In high-income countries, the increases in the number of preterm births are linked to the number of older women having babies, increased use of fertility drugs and resulting multiple pregnancies. Medically unnecessary inductions and Caesarean deliveries before full-term are also factors.

In many low-income countries, the main causes of preterm births include infections, malaria, HIV, and high adolescent pregnancy rates.

WHO’s Director of Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health, Elizabeth Mason, noted that a key way to reduce preterm births is to find ways to help all pregnancies go to full term, or 39 weeks.

“We are now looking closely at what can be done before a woman gets pregnant to help her have an optimal outcome,” said Dr. Mason, adding that poverty, women’s education, malaria and HIV all have an impact on the pregnancy and the health of the baby.

Born Too Soon: The Global Action Report on Preterm Birth recommends addressing the issue of missing essential medicines and equipment, training existing health staff in how to look after women in preterm labour and these vulnerable babies, increased funding for research to find new prevention solutions, and better data for accurate future counts.

It also offers an agenda and action plan for all groups concerned with preterm birth and child health, ranging from the UN and governments at all levels to donor countries to global philanthropic institutions and civil society.

UN