Bridgetown, Barbados – Development Financial Institutions (DFIs) across the Region are now better equipped to respond to the challenges and changing needs of the Region, thanks to a recent conference to increase awareness of best practices and current trends in inclusive and sustainable development financing.

Over 70 persons from 40 organisations in 21 countries participated in the conference, “Development Banking in the Caribbean: A Regional Approach to Sustainable Development,” organised by the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), in partnership with the Saint Lucia Development Bank (SLDB). Critical areas addressed during the three-day Conference included access to finance; ecosystem enhancements to support micro, small and medium-scale enterpises (MSMEs); improved financial reporting to meet international standards; enhanced enterprise risk management practices; corporate governance; and climate resilience. Additionally, the Conference was used to increase awareness of CDB’s financing and technical assistance products that are available to DFIs, and MSMEs through CDB…[+]

Finland is facing calls from the Council of Europe to reform its rape laws to criminalise a lack of consent rather than just the use of violence. The human rights body said Finland’s legislation lagged behind international standards despite the country’s strong record in furthering gender equality.

The council’s group of experts on action against violence against women and domestic violence “strongly encouraged” swift action in its first report on the country. It said: “Rape continues to be categorised according to the degree of physical violence used or threatened by the perpetrator or a requirement to show that the victim was in a state of fear or helplessness and unable to defend herself or to formulate or express her will.

“The problem with this approach is that it does not fully capture the realities of women experiencing sexual violence and how they respond to threat (ie flight, fight, freeze, flop or befriend).” The council said that as a consequence, “not all forms of sexual violence are criminalised in Finland … Other consequences include the requirement of higher thresholds of evidentiary standards of physical resistance and a shifting of the focus on to the victim’s behaviour rather than the accused’s actions.”

In response to a series of high-profile cases where lax penalties imposed on offenders caused an outcry, the Finnish ministry of justice has recently established a working group to recommend on required reforms by the end of May 2020.(theguardian)…[+]

A Trinidad-born woman will represent Germany at the next Miss Universe pageant.

Miriam Rautert won the 2019 Miss Universe Germany title last month. The German-Trinidadian beauty was victorious over nine other contestants who vied for the opportunity to represent Germany in the international competition. The Miss Universe pageant is scheduled for 26 January 2020 in The Phillipines.(Trinidad Express)…[+]

Argentina has imposed currency controls in an attempt to stabilise markets as the country faces a deepening financial crisis. The government will restrict foreign currency purchases following a sharp drop in the value of the peso. Firms will have to seek central bank permission to sell pesos to buy foreign currency and to make transfers abroad. Argentina is also seeking to defer debt payments to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to deal with the crisis.

In an official bulletin issued on Sunday, the government said that it was necessary to adopt “a series of extraordinary measures to ensure the normal functioning of the economy, to sustain the level of activity and employment and protect the consumers”. The central bank said the measures were intended to “maintain currency stability”. It also said that while individuals can continue to buy US dollars, they will need to seek permission to purchase more than $10,000 (£8,223.50) a month. The measures will apply until the end of this year.(BBC)…[+]

The Great Barrier Reef’s outlook has been officially downgraded from poor to very poor due to climate change. Rising sea temperatures thanks to human-driven global warming remain the biggest threat to the reef, a five-year Australian government report says.

Actions to save it “have never been more time critical”, the report reads. Stretching over 2,300km (1,400 miles), the reef was designated a World Heritage site in 1981 for its “enormous scientific and intrinsic importance”. But in recent years the reef has been increasingly damaged by warmer seas which have killed off coral and affected its long-term health. Unesco’s World Heritage Committee is due to consider adding the reef to its list of sites that are “in danger”. The massive report documents the condition of the reef and its outlook for the future.(BBC)…[+]

MEXICO CITY– Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said yesterday unseen forces were spying on him and his cabinet, revealing that a “sophisticated camera” had been discovered at the presidential offices in central Mexico City.

During a regular daily news briefing, in which he usually expounds on everything from history and economics to culture, Lopez Obrador said the device had been found in a room used for meetings in the National Palace, his headquarters.

“Just imagine, they’ve been recording us in a meeting room, here in the Palace,” the president said as he reflected on the importance of free speech and transparency.

Lopez Obrador, who didn’t provide details on the camera or how it came to be there, said he had no secrets. “What we talk about is completely legal, transparent, and there’s nothing that could be used against us,” he said.(Reuters)…[+]

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – The Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) has recently kicked off a project to make Dominica’s water supply resilient to climate change and tackle inequalities in the access to water. With support from the United Kingdom through CDB, a strategic plan, a feasibility study and detailed designs are under development to help the Government of Dominica to improve the water infrastructure.

“The improved water infrastructure will be important for Dominica’s key economic sectors, including agriculture, manufacturing, and tourism. The project findings will serve as a roadmap for medium to long-term interventions in the water sector in Dominica,” said Andrew Dupigny, Head of Infrastructure Partnerships, CDB. CDB has approved £2.1 million for the project, fully funded from a £25 million grant from the United Kingdom, which will ultimately cover actual construction.

As part of this project, designs will be developed to improve the potable water system, water treatment facilities, pumping stations, water storage reservoirs and transmission mains. This will facilitate the construction of more resilient infrastructure and reduce down-time. In addition, the capacity of the national utility, Dominica Water and Sewerage Company Limited (DOWASCO), will be strengthened to provide resilient water supply and sanitation. Although Dominica is a water-rich country, Hurricane Maria in September 2017 has shown that the reliability of the provision of potable water supply is under threat from extreme weather events, exacerbated through climate change. Strong winds, flooding, landslides, falling trees and power outage damaged 41 out of 43 water supply areas in the country, a third of them severely.(CDB)…[+]

LONDON – British Prime Minister Boris Johnson moved to limit parliament’s opportunity to derail Brexit by cutting the amount of time it sits between now and EU exit day on Oct. 31, infuriating opponents who accused him of leading a “very British coup”.

In his boldest move yet to take the country out of the European Union with or without a divorce deal, Johnson said he would set Oct. 14 for the Queen’s Speech – the formal state opening of a new session of parliament that is proceeded by a suspension of the House of Commons.

That would effectively shut parliament from mid-September for around a month. Raising the stakes in the constitutional crisis gripping Britain, it could also force Johnson’s opponents to up their own game by calling a no-confidence vote in the government, potentially leading to an election. The news sent the pound down sharply. The Church of England said a chaotic EU exit would hurt the poor and fail to bring reconciliation or peace in a fractured country. Asked in a broadcast interview if he was trying to block politicians from delaying Britain’s departure from the EU, Johnson replied: “That is completely untrue.(Reuters)…[+]

President Donald Trump called Puerto Rico “one of the most corrupt places on earth” in a swipe at the U.S. territory’s leaders as they prepared for Tropical Storm Dorian which became a hurricane on Wednesday and headed for the island.

Dorian gathered strength over the U.S. Virgin Islands to become a Category 1 hurricane, and is expected to hit eastern Puerto Rico with heavy wind and rain. Puerto Rico is still struggling to recover from back-to-back hurricanes in 2017, which killed about 3,000 people just months after it filed for bankruptcy.

Dorian is approaching Puerto Rico from the southeast although it is blowing winds considerably less powerful than when Hurricane Maria hit the island in September 2017. However, by the time Dorian hits Florida late on Sunday or Monday, it could be a major hurricane, according to the Miami-based National Hurricane Center (NHC). After approving an emergency declaration for Puerto Rico late on Tuesday, Trump took a swipe at the U.S. territory in a tweet this  morning.(Reuters)…[+]

MONTEGO BAY, St James — Pointing to statistics showing that four out of every five young girls lost their virginity to rape or molestation, Attorney General Marlene Malahoo Forte yesterday lamented that Jamaica has a serious problem with sexual abuse.

Malahoo Forte did not state the source of the data. At the same time, the former sexual offences prosecutor and judge said that women do not make suitable jurors in rape cases. “One of the things I learned as a prosecutor, in empanelling a jury, don’t choose women on a rape case, because women judge other women so harshly when it comes to sexual matters,” Malahoo Forte said in an address at the official launch of the Miss Montego Bay Pageant 2019 held at the Blue Beat in St James.

According to the attorney general, while people tend, at first, to believe a woman who has reported being raped, doubt creeps in once attempts are made to take the matter to court. “When we hear about the story outside of the courtroom, we believe it. But the minute we engage the formal process for the criminal to be brought to book, we start doubting the woman. And we start wondering if she had brought it on herself,” Malahoo Forte said.(Jamaica Observer)…[+]