Economist and former planning minister Jean-Max Bellerive has been confirmed as Haiti's new Prime Minister.

	Jean Max Bellerive (right) pledged to reduce poverty

He is the sixth holder of the post in five years in the politically unstable country.

An inauguration ceremony was due to take place on Wednesday.

The lower house of parliament in Haiti, the Chamber of Deputies, voted 70-2, with two abstentions, to back the appointment of Mr Bellerive.

The Senate had earlier approved the new Prime Minister's Cabinet and plan of government.

He was nominated by President Rene Preval after the Senate ousted Michele Pierre-Louis on 30 October.

Autonomy vote brought forward

A vote on whether Martinique and French Guiana want more autonomy from Paris has been moved up a week to 10 January.

The French government says the change leaves more flexibility for a second round of voting if the first ballot is inconclusive.

Martinique and French Guiana are currently both departments of France, equivalent to mainland regions.

Voters will choose whether to adopt autonomy status, which would allow local governments more administrative freedom.

They would remain part of France.

Tourism's role in TT

Trinidad and Tobago's economy may be energy-based, but tourism is a significant contributor as well and is predicted to rise even further.

That's according to figures presented at a global travel fair in London.

The report from the World Tourism and Travel Council shows that, for Trinidad alone, travel and tourism contributes 10% of gross domestic product and 13% of employment.

For tourism-intensive Tobago, it has a much higher economic significance, generating 37% of estimated GDP and just over half of all employment on the island.

The report also forecasts that the numbers will increase over the next ten years.

Cayman seeks managers, families

The government of the Cayman Islands has said it will seek to make it easier to secure work permits for family members and domestic staff of financial professionals seeking to relocate to the territory.

Cayman Premier McKeeva Bush has told Reuters new agency that the plan is intended to boost tax revenues and cut a budget deficit.

The Cayman is the legal home to most of the world's hedge funds but less than 50 managers are actually based in the territory.

Nations commit to greener economies

Several countries particularly threatened by global warming have committed themselves to making their economies less dependent on carbon, as a step towards combating climate change.

The pledge was made at the end of a gathering in the Maldives, the Indian Ocean island chain in danger of being submerged by rising sea levels.

The participants, calling themselves the Vulnerable, or V, -Eleven, called on other nations to become greener.

They urged world leaders to reach a binding agreement at next month's climate change conference in Copenhagen.

Barbados was among the 11 nations at the meeting.