Senator pushes for envoy to Cuba
US Senator Richard Lugar has urged President Barack Obama to reach out to Cuba by opening talks and naming a special envoy to the long-time US foe.
Lugar, a key Republican senator, said in February that decades of US sanctions on the communist-run island had failed.
Now in a letter to the president he says additional US measures are needed “to recast a policy that has not only failed to promote human rights and democracy, but also undermines our broader security and political interests”.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s top Republican stressed that engagement with Havana now could be key to achieving better bilateral ties.
Conditional support for licensing regime
The new President of the St Lucia Hotel and Tourism Association Anthony Bowen is supporting a drive by the Ministry of Tourism to introduce licences for local hotels.
But Bowen wants the St Lucia Tourist Board kept out of the licensing process.
The measure was announced recently by Tourism Minister Allen Chastanet as part of initiatives to improve visitor safety and enhance the local tourism product.
Bowen has some reservations.
He said he didn’t support the ministry or the tourist board getting involved in categorising hotels, preferring instead the use of international rating standards.
Lucky Dube killers get life
A judge in Johannesburg has sentenced three men to life in prison for murdering the South African reggae star, Lucky Dube.
Lucky Dube was shot dead in front of his children by men trying to steal his car in a Johannesburg suburb.
His killing in 2007 left many fans in the Caribbean in shock.
