THOUSANDS FOR SEMIS

There will be fewer restrictions at Wednesday’s semi final of the ICC Cricket World Cup West Indies 2007 but it will be harder to control the event as the largest crowd thus far descends on the Beausejour Cricket Grounds (BCG). Cricketers, officials, press and fans are arriving by commercial and charter plane, via cruise ships and yachts to join the hordes already on island for the clash between South Africa and the unbeaten Australia team. They are expected to join thousands already on-island who will attend the event,

Record Breaking Cocoa Export Today

Hotel Chocolat Estates Ltd., a company in Soufriere will today be shipping the largest amount of cocoa ever produced in St. Lucia, a major boost for the agriculture sector in the country.
Approximately 10 tonnes of cocoa will today be loaded into containers and shipped to Europe by West Indies Shipping, a local shipping company located at La Toc.

POLICE NEWS
Teenager arrested with Firearm:

A 15 year old boy from Odsan, Castries, was arrested about 12:15 a.m. on Thursday the 19th of April 2007, at Labayee, quarter of Castries, with a 9mm pistol on his person. Police recovered the firearm which was tucked in his waist area, during a search of his person. One round of 9mm ammunition was also found on his person.
The young man is presently in police custody and will be charged for the officence of Possession of Firearm and Ammunition.

Growth Recorded yet poverty increases - the two faces of a Nation

St. Lucia’s economy may have recorded five straight years of economic growth but such good news is not good for a large number of St. Lucians who are on and well below the poverty line.
The above, more or less, summed up Prime Minister, Sir John Compton’s, explanation of the former administration’s stewardship in their close to 10 years in government. Sir John last Thursday evening portrayed a picture diverse to the one,

Gov’t faces Earth Challenge

Government has been challenged to demonstrate its awareness of, and act on, the island’s precarious position in the face of climate change and global warming, as the country joined the rest of the world in observing Earth Day 2007. The annual April 22 Soleil Levé and Soleil Couché activities in Gros Islet and Soufriére saw small groups converging to pledge to protect and conserve the environment.

Cooking Gas Prices Increase

St. Lucians will, from next week, be paying more money for cooking gas.
Prime Minister Sir John Compton, in his budget address last Thursday said that the increases would take effect from May 2 2007.

Gov’t to Introduce VAT

Prime Minister Sir John Compton says that his Government aims to introduce the Value Added Tax (VAT) within 12 months ... that is by May 1, 2008.
Sir John made that announcement during his budget address last Thursday evening noting that St. Lucia has two choices, either to keep the present tax system unchanged and suffer the consequences of a dwindling tax base or to reform the tax structure to make it move appropriately to the new global and domestic environment.