Trinidad's economy is heavily dependent on oil

Trinidad and Tobago's Central Bank governor Ewart Williams has said that rising prices are the single greatest problem of the twin island republic's energy based economy.

The world recession is beginning to bite in the Caribbean, and Governor Williams says Port of Spain is also being affected.

Inflation is now just under 15 percent, but food prices have escalated by 35 percent.

Governor Williams told a news conference on Monday that while food imports have contributed to the price increases, insufficient local production is a major factor.

He also added that massive government spending has driven up demand for goods and services.

IMF needs more funds

The managing director of the International Monetary Fund Dominique Strauss-Khan has said the organisation may need more resources for its role in responding to the financial crisis.

He made the comment after a Washington summit on the global financial slowdown.

The IMF does have substantial resources to lend to countries needing help to weather the storm, but Mr Strauss-Khan, said the agency is likely to need more.

He has also called for the countries to tackle the crisis themselves by cutting interest rates and using government finances.

Economist says IMF call justified

A Barbados-born economist has been appointed to a United Nations think tank on measures to deal with the global economic crisis.

Avinash Persaud will join the panel that will also look at reform of international financial institutions, such as the IMF and the World Bank.

Professor Persaud believes this crisis is the result of a failure of the regulation system.

He also told BBC Caribbean that the IMF's call for more funding in light of the financial situation, is justified.

St Lucia opposition plans protest

St Lucia's opposition party says it will go ahead with a planned protest rally on Sunday, despite what it says are attempts by the Prime Minister to undermine the authority of the Police Commissioner and prevent the activity from being held.

Prime Minister Stephenson King appears to have suggested that the protest would not take place.

But the St Lucia Labour Party dismissed his comments as an attempt by a what it calls a 'discredited and unpopular' leader to trample on constitutional rights.

Cuba land requests

Cuban authorities have received 80,000 land requests as part of the Communist government's reform of the state-dominated agricultural sector.

A top farmer leader says the tens of thousands of applications have been made by workers, private farmers, cooperatives and state companies.

Under the land lease programme the land is supposed to be granted from 45 to 100 days after application.

But three hurricanes and the island's state bureaucracy are reported to have slowed the process.

The current programme is part of President Raul Castro's agricultural reform aimed at increasing domestic food production and decreasing reliance on imports.