Moontown

Juan Manuel Santos, an ex-defense minister in President Alvaro Uribe’s government and the favorite to succeed him, complained that Venezuela’s leftist leader singled him out by calling him a threat to the region in a speech in Caracas.

The exchange began Sunday when Santos refused to say in an election debate whether he would bomb rebel camps outside Colombia but defended a 2008 attack on a FARC camp in Ecuador that triggered a regional crisis and criticism from Chavez.

The Venezuelan leader responded on Monday when he told a summit of leftist leaders that Santos was a threat “to all of us” and slammed Colombia’s close ties with the United States.

“Other candidates (at the debate) did say they would bomb terrorist camps in other countries,” Santos told reporters in Bogota. “But President Chavez came after me, which shows that he clearly wants to interfere in the elections.”

Venezuela and Colombia are locked in a trade and diplomatic quarrel over Bogota’s decision to allow US troops more access to its military bases to counter FARC rebels and cocaine traffickers.

Chavez, a strong US foe, calls the plan an aggression against his OPEC-member nation.

The dispute has battered trade between the two countries, with Chavez ordering a halt on Colombian imports. Colombia says the trade conflict could trim around one percent off its economic growth this year.

Santos, the son of a wealthy Bogota family, has promised to maintain Uribe’s tough line with leftist guerrillas fighting a four-decade-old war on the state if he wins the election, and says he is like “oil and water” with Chavez. (Caribnet)

LONDON, England (Reuters) — White balls may be used when day-night test matches are introduced, according to International Cricket Council (ICC) general manager of cricket Dave Richardson.

A pink ball has been trialled in England, Australia and West Indies which would enable test players to wear white clothing under floodlit conditions with white sightscreens. The traditional red ball is difficult to see properly under lights.

White balls are used successfully in day-night one-day matches but the players wear coloured clothing and black sightscreens are employed. Clothes and sightscreens have always been white in test cricket.

“Anecdotal evidence at the moment is probably if we can find a white form that retains its colour or remains clean for longer that will probably be the best option,” Richardson told Reuters be telephone from the ICC’s Dubai headquarters.

Richardson said he thought a suitable ball, whether coloured or white, would be ready in time for next year’s English season.

ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat told Reuters on Tuesday a switch to coloured clothing for test cricket would have to be carefully considered.

“It is a debate that we would love to engage in because I am not totally sure of removing the white clothing in test cricket,” he said.

“There’s a part of me that still wants to keep that. We need to apply our minds very carefully if we are going to change some fundamentals.”

Edwin Carrington, CARICOM Secretary General

Secretary-General Carrington who is also the Secretary-General of CARIFORUM (CARICOM plus the Dominican Republic) was participating in a Seminar in Madrid, Spain organised by the Ibero-American Secretariat titled “From Rio de Janeiro to Madrid: A Decade Later”. In referring to the situation of the CARIFORUM countries, the Secretary-General pointed to a number of challenges faced by these countries, including adjustment to the changing relationship with the European Union and the response to the global economic and financial crisis.

The Seminar which was examining the past, present and future of relations between the EU and the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, was attended by Secretary-General, Enrique Iglesias of the Ibero-American Secretariat, and other high-profile personalities, including former President of Chile, Ricardo Lagos, former EU High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy, Javier Solana, Secretary-General of the Organisation of American States, Jose Miguel Insulza, and Juan Pablo de La Iglesia, State Secretary of the Foreign Ministry of Spain, which currently holds the Presidency of the EU, former EU Commissioner for Development, Manuel Marin, former Secretary of Foreign Affairs of Mexico, Jorge Casteñada, and Executive President of the Andean Finance Corporation, Enrique Garcia.

Secretary-General Carrington reminded the seminar that CARIFORUM states, mainly small, highly-indebted, middle-income countries face significant impediments in obtaining much-needed development assistance, due solely to their level of per capita income, without account being taken of other relevant factors, such as their vulnerability and lack of resilience.

He pointed to the changing CARICOM-Latin American relations as evidenced by a number of initiatives, including increasingly sharing membership in certain bodies such as the Union of South American Countries (UNASUR), the Rio Group, and the new Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CALC), and by bilateral Summits - CARICOM-Mexico last February and CARICOM-Brazil, 26 April 2010. In looking ahead to next month’s EU-LAC Summit the Secretary-General stressed the importance of enhanced CARIFORUM cooperation for maximum benefit in EU-LAC cooperation. (Caribnet)

Speaking on the topic Regional Integration and Development: the relevance of Functional Cooperation, Dr Greene dispelled speculations that the regional integration movement would erode the ‘sovereignty’ of member states. Noting that there was more to the integration movement than the CSME which was the popular yardstick seemingly used to measure progress, Dr Greene highlighted major achievements spawned by the integration movement since its inception.

The Assistant Secretary-General gave examples of the more recent establishment of the Regional Development Fund in Barbados, the replacement of the Caribbean Regional Negotiating Machinery (CRNM) with the Office of Trade Negotiations now under the aegis of the CARICOM Secretariat and the establishment of the CARICOM Competition Commission headquartered in Suriname as successful building blocks in sustaining the integration process. He noted further, their importance in “sustaining a level playing field, coordinating trade negotiations and guaranteeing the application of common standards in trade production within the Community.”

Moreover, Dr Greene said, much economic, political and social development had been achieved which should definitely be attributed to the regional integration movement.

However, Dr Greene was not un-mindful of the challenges plaguing regional integration and the CSME asserted that the major roadblocks were due to national resistance, changes in governments and delays in the facilitation of the necessary national regulations or legislation to bring policies and programmes into effect.

He lamented that attempts to deepen the integration process were usually hindered by what he described as “the sustained pre-occupation with the notion that CARICOM comprises sovereign states which would be eroded by the application of shared sovereignty.”

This he said couldn’t be further from the truth and pointed to functional cooperation as the critical lever of the regional integration movement that he argued advanced rather than stymied the sovereignty of member states.

According to the Assistant Secretary-General, ‘sovereign states’ had benefited from functional cooperation in the areas of foreign policy and diplomacy, and therefore could “identify the value of acting collectively in negotiating theatres, internationally.” These benefits he said “were all indicative of forms of integration that had helped in no small way to sustain the cohesiveness and viability of the community in the hemispheric and global systems.”

“The principles of Functional Cooperation,” Dr Greene concluded “if properly applied allows sovereign states to advance specific programmes in a series of South-South arrangements that contribute significantly to economic development.” (Caribnet)

President Ma made the comments on Monday shortly after accepting the Letters of Credence from the newly-appointed St Kitts and Nevis Ambassador to Taipei, Jasmine Huggins at the Presidential Palace.

St Kitts and Nevis Ambassador to Taiwan, Jasmine Huggins (left) and President of  Taiwan,  Ma Ying-jeou after in discussions after she presented her credentials (Photos courtesy of the Embassy of Taiwan in St Kitts)

On arrival at the Presidential Palace, the new St Kitts and Nevis Ambassador was greeted by the Taiwanese President and a Guard of Honour. Ambassador Huggins, accompanied by President Ma inspected the Guard of Honour.

Inside the Presidential Palace, President Ma said St Kitts and Nevis has been fully supportive of Taiwan’s bid to join the international community and added that Taiwan is grateful for its support.

Since taking office in May, 2008, President Ma said he has pushed for flexible diplomacy and ending the diplomatic battle with China.

While relations between Taiwan and China have greatly improved, President Ma also said Taiwan will continue to cooperate with its allies. Ma said Taiwan might add new cooperation projects if necessary.

St Kitts and Nevis Embassy established an Embassy in Taiwan in 2007, when Huggins was appointed Charge D’ Affaires.

Several students from St Kitts and Nevis are studying at universities in Taiwan, but Ambassador Huggins said one of her aims is to expand this area of cooperation between Taiwan and St Kitts and Nevis.

“I shall endeavor to vigorously pursue the educational opportunities that exist in the Republic of China for the youths of the federation wishing to further their studies,” she pledged.

“Our people-to-people exchanges, whether political, cultural or educational, can only serve to foster understanding, engender respect and build lasting relationships that would serve us in good stead in years to come,” said Ambassador Huggins.

Another of the ambassador’s stated priorities is to promote her country as a competitive market for investment opportunities in areas such as tourism, light manufacturing, information technology and agriculture.