Barbados News
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ARUBA, 2017/09/10
Resilient, powerful, strong and faithful. This is how Ramon Andrew described the people of Turks and Caicos. Ramon Andrews, the outspoken director of Tourism for the Caribbeans island country Turks and Caicos sounded somehow relieved at the same time as he updated the media today on the current situation on his island, specifically commenting on the safety of visitors and visitor industry professionals.
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AFGHANISTAN, 2017/09/09
Destinations worldwide welcomed 598 million international tourists in the initial six months of 2017, some 36 million additional than in the same period of 2016. At 6%, increase was well above the trend of recent years, making the current January-June period the strongest half-year since 2010.
Visitor numbers reported by destinations around the world reflect strong request for international travel in the initial half of 2017, according to the new UNWTO World Tourism Barometer. Worldwide, international tourist arrivals (overnight visitors) increased by 6% compared to the same six-month period last year, well above the sustained and consistent trend of 4% or higher increase since 2010. This represents the strongest half-year in seven years.
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AFGHANISTAN, 2016/12/11
A university education may expand your mind. It will as well fatten your wallet. Data from the OECD, a club of rich nations, show that graduates can expect far better lifetime earnings than those without a degree.
The size of this premium varies. It is greatest in Ireland, which has a high GDP per chief and rising inequality. Since 2000 the unemployment rate for under-35s has swelled to 8% for those with degrees – but to additional than 20% for those without, and nearly 40% for secondary school drop-outs. The country’s wealth presently goes disproportionately to workers with letters next their names.
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BARBADOS, 2016/03/20
University of the West Indies (UWI) officials are calling for additional action and less talk across the region to confront the low performance in Mathematics at the secondary and tertiary level.
Dean in the Faculty of Science and Technology at the UWI Cave Hill Campus, Dr Colin Depradine, said the situation has reached the stage where urgent intervention is required.
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AFGHANISTAN, 2016/01/02
World economic increase will be disappointing next year and the outlook for the medium-term has as well deteriorated, the chief of the International Monetary Fund said in a guest article for German newspaper Handelsblatt published on Wednesday.
IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said the prospect of rising interest rates in the United States and an economic slowdown in China were contributing to uncertainty and a higher risk of economic vulnerability worldwide.
Added to that, increase in world trade has slowed considerably and a decline in raw material prices is posing problems for economies based on these, while the financial sector in a lot of nations still has weaknesses and financial risks are rising in emerging markets, she said.
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BARBADOS, 2015/11/27
The redevelopment of the near 200-year-old Sam Lord’s Castle into a hotel managed by the world’s major hotel company will bring with it 3,000 local jobs, Prime Minister Freundel Stuart has disclosed.
Addressing the groundbreaking ceremony at the 57-acre site in the eastern parish of St. Philip yesterday, he said the new Sam Lord’s Castle Barbados, A Wyndham Grand Resort is as well expected to bring in significant amounts of foreign exchange.
“The macro-economic implications of the project cannot be understated. The hotel will employ in excess of 1,000 persons next completion, and is as well expected to generate approximately 2,000 additional jobs in other sectors of the economy. Foreign exchange earnings to be made by the property are estimated at over US$70 million a year, with a direct contribution to the GDP of US$35 million,” Stuart said.
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ARUBA, 2015/11/27
The United States Agency for International Improvment(USAID) and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) today signed agreements that will see nations of the eastern and southern Caribbean benefiting from US$165 million in development assistance.
An estimated US$89 million will target the reduction of youth involvement in crime and violence in target communities, while US$52 million is designated to achieving epidemic control of HIV/AIDS part key populations, and $31 million will go towards reducing the risks to human and natural assets resulting from climate vulnerability.
CARICOM Secretary General Ambassador Irwin LaRocque and USAID Eastern and Southern Caribbean Mission Director, Christopher Cushing, initialled the five-year Development Objective Agreements (DOAGs) at the CARICOM Secretariat in Guyana.
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BARBADOS, 2015/07/09
A day next calling out public servants to turmoil, the National Union of Public Workers (NUPW) has instructed employees its represents at the Sanitation Service Authority (SSA) to stop working.
The action – Phase 2 of the industrial action sparked by the forced retirement of workers at the Barbados Investment and Development Corporation (BIDC) – will mean no garbage collection or provision of grave digging services by the SSA.
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BARBADOS, 2015/05/12
Barbados Wednesday signed two offshore exploration agreements with the Australian-based oil company, BHP Billiton that Bridgetown said underscores the need to fasten its energy next.
“Signing these two exploration licences will send a clear message to the industry that Barbados is open for business and is critical about the development of its offshore petroleum sector,” said Prime Minister Freundel Stuart as he signed the agreement with BHP Billiton Vice President of Exploration, Dr. Niall McCormack.
“In addition, Barbadian nationals stand to reap early benefits on execution of the licences through the negotiated provisions for annual training, scholarships, local content, coastal and marine environment research and the acquisition of critical equipment and software,” he added.
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BARBADOS, 2015/04/02
The Central Bank of Barbados (CBB) says the island’s economy continued to demonstrate resilience in spite of challenging economic conditions.
In its 2014 Financial Stability Statement released here, the CBB said that over the course of the 12 months ending September 2014, most deposit-taking entities inclunding banks, trust companies and finance houses inclunding insurance firms faced low request for major financial products by the private sector. “As a result, increase was weak and in some instances, entities recorded a contraction on their balance sheets,” the CBB said, noting that for the banks, loan increase was driven by one particular loan to Government, inclunding mortgage lending in the personal sector.
