UWI Gender Studies Director Speaks at UK Forum Today

UNIVERSITY Director of The University of the West Indiesā€™ (The UWI) Institute for Gender and Development Studies (IGDS), Professor Verene Shepherd will today address more than 500 parliamentarians at the inaugural Commonwealth Parliamentary Associationā€™s (CPA) Regional Hot Topics (RHT). The forum is carded for the Park Plaza Riverbank Hotel in London from 2:00 p. m to 5:00 p.m. (UK time).

Cā€™bean Lawmaker Leads Fight for Garvey Pardon

NEW YORK, Dec 14, CMC ā€“ Caribbean American Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke has taken the lead in calling on President Barack Obama to posthumously pardon Jamaicaā€™s first national hero, Marcus Mosiah Garvey. The 17 members of the United States House of Representatives including Gregory Meeks, Charles Rangel and Hakeem Jeffries, have sent a letter to Obama, noting that Garvey, who was born in St. Annā€™s Bay, Jamaica, had ā€œinspired generations of leaders, from the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., to President Nelson Mandela.

Police Probing Assassination Video

ST. JOHNā€™S, Antigua, Dec 14, CMC ā€“ Police have released the former Antigua & Barbuda Defence Force (ABDF) captain, George Wehner, pending further investigation into a video circulated on the social media that Parliament agreed incites ā€œthe assassinationā€ of legislators here. ā€œAs it relates to the video investigation, he has been released pending further investigation,ā€ attorney Leon ā€œChakuā€ Symister said.

Greater Visibility Urged on National Trust

Image: La Rose group at the AGM

GOVERNOR General Dame PearletteLouisy has challenged the Saint Lucia National Trust to augment efforts to make its wide-ranging conservation work more visible in the public domain. Addressing the Trustā€™s annual general meeting recently, she congratulated the management, councilors and staff for the work they had undertaken over the past year, and for keeping its members engaged. However, Dame Pearlette who is also the SLNTā€™s Patron noted that more needs to be done to give the organization the visibility it deserves.

New Zealand, CDB To Partner In Geothermal Development

THE Government of New Zealand and the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) have formally confirmed their ongoing partnership in support of geothermal energy development in the Eastern Caribbean. New Zealand High Commissioner, Mrs Jan Henderson met with President of CDB, Dr William Warren Smith on Monday, to discuss progress on the implementation of the CDB GeoSMART Initiative, which has been receiving technical support from the Government of New Zealand.

NEW ZIKA CONCERNS

NEW concerns about the impact of the Zika virus in St Lucia were raised yesterday in a statement from the Ministry of Health which announced ā€œheightened surveillanceā€ of pregnant women confirmed with the disease.
The Ministry said presently, it is monitoring 50 pregnant women who have tested positive for the Zika Virus Disease. All of the pregnant women confirmed so far have recovered from the illness. However, given the concerns regarding pregnancy outcomes in Zika positive pregnant women, they are being monitored closely through antenatal care services.