Caricom leaders have agreed to devote special attention to crime and tourism in the coming months. They made the decision at their intersessional summit in the Bahamas. The heads of government decided that they needed extra time needed to debate "the rising tide of violent criminality". So they agreed to hold a special summit on security in April to debate a regional strategy to combat the problem. In their efforts to tackle regional inflation, the conference agreed to the suspension, for two years, of a common import tax on a number of food staples. Caricom leaders also reiterated their intention, after a period of consultation, to sign a new trade and investment agreement with the European Union. The heads of government also decided to devote one day to tourism during their next summit in July and to make the industry a permanent item on their agenda. Four to get award The four recipients of the Order of the Caribbean Community, Caricom's highest award, have been announced. They are cricketing great Brian Lara of Trinidad and Tobago, Barbadian novelist George Lamming, Professor Rex Nettleford of Jamaica and Nicholas Liverpool, the president of Dominica. The awards will be presented at the July summit of Caricom in Antigua and Barbuda. Reprinted from bbccaribbean.com