Costa Rica

MARIGOT, St. Martin — His Excellency David Comissiong, Barbados’ Ambassador to CARICOM, recently received The Presidents’ Award from the St. Martin Book Fair. The annual Award is the final highlight of the three-day St. Martin Literary Festival, said book fair coordinator Shujah Reiph.

Santo Domingo, DR.
According to a study recently carried out by the Central American Consumer Protection Council (Concadeco), an organization that belongs to the Central American Integration System (SICA), the Dominican Republic is one of the countries with the cheapest basic food basket,

The president of the regional body, the Honduran Mario Castejon, said in a press release that the country has the staple products with the lowest prices than Panama, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Honduras, and other Caribbean countries.

by Marlon Madden

With increases in ransomware attacks globally over the past two years, one cybersecurity professional is expressing concern that too many governments and businesses continue to operate with less-than ideal cyber networks, making it easier for attackers to infiltrate their organisations.

Caribbean countries that live in fear of being blacklisted by the European Union should band together and take legal action, according to Barbados-based economist and Caribbean policy expert Marla Dukharan.

“I felt like there should be some legal recourse that should be pursued collectively,” Ms. Dukharan said on Feb. 23 on the regional livestreamed show “Territories Talk,” hosted by Shaina Smith-Archer, chairwoman of the BVI Chamber of Commerce and Hotel Association.

The Virgin Islands has been added to the European Union’s “grey list” along with nine other jurisdictions in the Caribbean and elsewhere, the EU Council announced after its meeting on Feb. 24.

Besides the VI, the EU added the Bahamas, Belize, Bermuda, Israel, Montserrat, Russia, Tunisia, the Turks and Caicos Islands, and Vietnam, bringing the total list up to 25 jurisdictions.

According to Travel + Leisure Magazine

The travel magazine Travel + Leisure published a list of the best destinations after retirement, considering factors such as the ease of obtaining residence, the health system, the climate, and the cost of living, among others.

As global travel has increased over the years, many seniors want to continue the adventure of exploring the world by retiring abroad. Others move to new places to stretch their retirement income or enjoy new experiences.

COSTA Rican dancehall promoter Fire Don is hoping that the two-year-old shutdown of reggae shows due to COVID-19 in that Central American country will soon end.

"Right now Costa Ricans are hungry for Jamaican music. They love reggae because this is the music their foreparents played when they came here as part of the railway workers in the latter part of 1880s. They never left, so we have some three generations of music lovers here in Costa Rica," said Fire Don, who has Jamaican parents.

The North American, Central American and Caribbean Athletic Association (NACAC) was the dominant confederation when World Athletics staged its awards in Monaco, last week.

Topping the list was Jamaica’s Elaine Thompson-Herah, who was adjudged Female Athlete of the Year.

At the Tokyo Olympics, Thompson-Herah, won both the 100m and 200m, respectively, repeating her 2016 Olympic victories in Rio, 2016. The gold medal victory in the 4 x 100m in Tokyo was a bonus to her achievements.

El Salvador is again revolutionising the financial services sector with the announcement of the construction of a Bitcoin city to add another first in the world.

The concept of this unique city is duly backed by Bitcoin, the world's largest crypto player in terms of market capitalisation, instead of regular fiat currencies. In September this year, El Salvador became the first country in the world to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender, despite warnings from influential players like the International Monetary Fund.

St Vincent and the Grenadines’ male Under-20 footballers have been drawn in Group C of the CONCACAF qualifiers, set for the Dominican Republic, November 5 to 14.

The Vincentians will contest the group, alongside Bermuda, Puerto Rico, Barbados and Montserrat.

St Vincent and the Grenadines will open their quest on November 8 versus Puerto Rico and face Barbados on November 10. On November 12, St Vincent and the Grenadines entertain Bermuda and close off against Montserrat on November 14.