HAVANA, Cuba, CMC – The Cuban government has given two of the world’s largest cruise lines – Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd, permission to begin sailing to the island. On Wednesday, Norwegian said the Marina, part of its Oceania Cruise lines, will sale from Miami on March 7, 2017.
Taiwan Gives To Festival of Lights
ONE of the elements of the Festival of Lights is the lantern competition and this year the effort has been boosted with a $5,000 donation and 100 traditional Taiwanese unicorn lanterns to the Castries Constituency Council from the Embassy of the Republic of China (Taiwan).
Flag Desecration on Gov’t Premises
A blunder of national magnitude was displayed for all to see in front of the GreahamLouisy Building along the Castries Waterfront on Thursday morning, after the national flag was seen hoisted up on a flagpole upside down. The blunder was spotted by the President of the Media Association of St. Lucia, Miguel Fevriere as he drove to work on the cloudy morning.
P.M. Gov’t Had No Choice on CIP
THE St. Lucia government says it had no choice but to follow other Eastern Caribbean States in launching a Citizenship by Investment (CIP) programme here. “It means that a person can get a passport from Dominica for EC$100,000 or get a passport from Grenada, St Kitts or Antigua and have the full rights of being here. They got OECS citizenship,” Prime Minister Allen Chastanet said, noting that some of the Chinese nationals who came here to open restaurants, received their passports through Dominica.
NTN To Rebroadcast OECS TV Series
THE National Television Network (NTN) is rebroadcasting the documentary series the OECS: The Founders. The six part series on the early history of the OECS premiered on NTN on Monday, 24th October 2016 and has received very positive reviews.
More City Constables Soon
CASTRIES Mayor Peterson Francis has vowed to make the city safer by establishing a 50-strong constabulary force. The current 12 member constabulary will get an injection of 18 more into members by year end, said to Francis Thursday at a press conference. The move by the Council to beef up its security force comes as a result of two shooting incidents within the city’s borders earlier this week, one of which resulted in the death of 27 year old Shane Emmanuel of City Gate.
Massy Gives To Sir John Foundation For Education
MASSY United Insurance has made a donation to the Sir John Compton Memorial Foundation. Traditionally, at Christmas time, Massy United would express their appreciation for the support and patronage of their clientele with a token gift of thanks. This year, however, the decision was made to celebrate the spirit of the season of giving by sharing with those less fortunate in the community they serve.
Grenada Crackdown on Military Wear, Fireworks
ST. GEORGE’S, Grenada, Dec 7, CMC – Grenada police have raided a number of business places here confiscating military type clothing and warning against its importation as well as “explosive” fireworks during the Christmas Season. Head of the Community Relations of the Police Force, Sylvan McIntyre, said that as part of the operations, “all things’ illegal will be seized.
120 On Dialysis; Equal Number on Waiting List
KIDNEY disease is very prevalent in St. Lucia and according to official records, nearly 120 persons are now undergoing dialysis treatment at the three main medical institutions on the island including Tapion Hospital. This is startling for a country with a population of just over 170,000 where resources are scarce and most importantly, there are nearly an equal number of persons waiting for an opportunity to receive treatment from just 17 dialysis machines at Victoria and St. Jude Hospitals .
Danger Road at Banse, Laborie
A recent traffic accident at Banse, Laborie, where a truck driver lost control of his vehicle which veered off the road and plunged down a precipice, has renewed calls by residents for the Ministry of Infrastructure to make the road safer for users. Over the years, there have been several accidents at a particular bend along the road where people have narrowly escaped death. The situation is of grave concern to residents of the area, especially those living near the bend.
Forestiere Housing Project Coming — 74 Lots To Be Made Available
THE National Housing Corporation (NHC) is looking at the development of house lots in Forestiere as the vehicle through which it will dig itself out of the financial mess it presently is in. The Corporation is in a position where it cannot pay its bills due to several matters before the courts arising from deals and agreements with contractors and companies that either did not materialize or fell through leaving the Corporation to deal with the expenses generated.
Homicide No. 27
A Vieux Fort man is in critical condition at St Jude Hospital after suffering severe burns in a domestic incident. Police are investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident which resulted in 68 year old male resident of St. Jude’s Highway, being admitted to the St. Jude Hospital for treatment with severe burns about his body.
OECS Represented at New Aviation Training Centre in Grenada
The Grenada Airports Authority (GAA) officially opened an Aviation Training Centre at the Maurice Bishop International Airport on November 29th, …
CDEMA, CARICAD Formalize Partnership for Regional Sustainable Development
In a true demonstration of regional partnership, two CARICOM institutions have taken an important step to formalize their relationship towards …
Taiwan Donates Lanterns, $5000 for Festival of Lights
The Embassy of the Republic of China (Taiwan) donated $5,000 and 100 traditional Taiwanese unicorn lanterns to the Castries Constituency …
Donation To SLADA To Fund Care-givers Programme
A COLLECTIONtaken at the recent funeral ceremony of a dementia patient is to go towards financing training for care-givers of the newly-formed St. Lucia Alzheimer’s & Dementia Association (SLADA). The collection was taken up during the funeral service of the late Leotha St Jour held at Our Lady of Fatima Church in La Clery.
Enjoy It — ARC Participants Urged
A warm Saint Lucian welcome has officially been extended to the sailors who have braved the high seas and successfully finished the 2700 nautical mile trans-oceanic ARC race from Las Palmas de Gran Canaria via the Cape Verde Islands to the IGY Rodney Bay Marina. On Sunday evening, steel pan music to the tune of well-known Christmas hits by local artistes filled the marina air entertaining over forty ARC+ yachts and ARC crews who are already on island. The event would not be complete without a kick of locally made rum punch and delectable treats packed with a generous dose of St Lucian flavour.
St. Lucia Joins ‘One Health’ CARICOM Drive
SAINT Lucia is hoping to join CARICOM member countries to promote the One Health Concept. The concept encourages a holistic approach to health, bringing together health institutions and health practitioners from a cross section of society. The One Health Concept is not entirely new, and re-emerged in 2004 through the collaborative efforts of the World Health Organization (WHO), the Organization for Animal Health (OIE), and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), with the aim to address the escalating diseases affecting humans, 70 percent of which originate from animals.
Coming: A Very Rainy Dry Season
ST. GEORGE’S, Grenada, Dec 5, CMC – The third Dry Season Caribbean Regional Climate Outlook Forum (CariCOF) of the Caribbean Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology (CIMH) began here Monday with a warning to Caribbean countries to expect above normal rainfall next year during the dry season.
Thousands Bid Farewell To Castro
HAVANA, Cuba, CMC – Cuban President Raul Castro has vowed to honour the socialist principles and goals of the Cuban revolution that was led by his brother, Fidel Castro, who died on November 25 at the age of 90. In an address to tens of thousands of Cubans and world leaders in the city of Santiago on Saturday, the president , who led final tributes to his brother also said Cuba would ban naming any monuments or roads after the late leader – and this was at his request.