Crisis summit coming

CARICOM leaders are scheduled to hold a special summit in Trinidad later this month to discuss the international economic downturn.



The decision for the May 24 summit was announced after a meeting of CARICOM foreign ministers in Jamaica.



It will be their first full meeting devoted solely to this financial crisis, which has damaged CARICOM economies.



Tourism, which is the economic lifeblood of several islands, has been particularly hard hit.



There will also be a foreign policy dimension to the Trinidad meeting.

Antigua\'s prime minister Baldwin Spencer said the regional leaders will finalise their positions ahead of next month\'s United Nations summit on the financial crisis.