Author: SKNISEditor

Secretary-General Ambassador Irwin LaRocque on Wednesday received Guyana’s new Ambassador to CARICOM H.E. George Talbot, in a ceremony which also highlighted the country’s lead role in the Caribbean Community’s food production and food security. Guyana holds lead responsibility for Agriculture, Agricultural Diversification and Food Security in the CARICOM Quasi-Cabinet, and President H.E. Irfaan Ali earlier this year presented to his colleague Heads of Government, a Food Production and Food Security Agenda which outlines in detail the strategy and action plan for transforming the agriculture sector in CARICOM. “The Secretariat looks forward to working closely with you and your colleagues on…

Basseterre, St. Kitts, April 26, 2021 (SKNIS): Slowly but surely, more and more countries around the world are enacting bans on single-use plastics to reduce waste, enhance sustainability, and promote a healthy environment. To date, 12 Caribbean countries including Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, the Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St. Eustatius, Saint. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, as well as Trinidad and Tobago, have all placed a ban on the use and import of single-use plastics and Styrofoam. “We are in a region where many of the islands have already banned the use of single-use plastics,” said Minister of…

Basseterre, St. Kitts, April 26, 2021 (SKNIS): The Department of Environment in collaboration with the United Nations (UN) Environment, UNEP DTU Partnership and its regional collaborating centre, the University of the West Indies (UWI), recently launched the preparation of a Technology Needs Assessment (TNA) for St. Kitts and Nevis. The stakeholder consultation, which took place on Thursday, April 22, saw a wide array of disciplines participating in the exercise. Stakeholders from both the public and private sectors participated in this activity, which also served as the official national launch of the TNA project. With a changing climate, there is a need to ensure…

BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS, April 24, 2021 (MMS-SKN) — As the Covid-19 vaccination rollout continues, Prime Minister Dr the Hon Timothy Harris is appealing to concerned individuals to urge persons to come forward to be vaccinated noting that the longer people take to get vaccinated gives the virus the opportunity to take on a new variant. “It is critically important that each one of us should urge as many persons to come forward,” said Prime Minister Harris on Saturday April 24 at the Sylvia Garnette Primary Health Care Facility in Tabernacle where he was encouraging persons to turn up for vaccination.…

The UWI St. Augustine, Trinidad & Tobago. Saturday, April 24, 2021. — Experts at The UWI Seismic Research Centre (UWI-SRC) advise that La Soufrière volcano in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines remains dangerous despite pauses in explosive activity. During a virtual press conference hosted on Wednesday, April 21, Rod Stewart, Volcano-Seismologist from the UWI-SRC/Montserrat Volcano Observatory (MVO) emphasized, “…although it is easy to identify the start of eruptions, conclusively saying when eruptions are over, often proves more difficult.” The UWI-SRC and Vincentian authorities continue to monitor developments at the volcano, as they have been since the onset of heightened activity in December 2020, which entered an explosive phase on April 9, 2021. Advice provided by the UWI–SRC enabled the successful evacuation of 13,000 residents from the designated ‘RED ZONE’ 24 hours prior to the first…

San Jose, 23 April 2021 (IICA). The Member States of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) expressed decisive support for the dialogue and consultation process that the specialized organization is undertaking in preparation for the UN Food Systems Summit, in a bid to ensure that the Americas, its governments, institutions and farmers are adequately represented at the global forum. These views were expressed by senior authorities in the ministries and secretariats of agriculture of the 17 countries participating in the Regular Meeting of IICA’s Special Advisory Commission on Management Issues (SACMI). The purpose of the SACMI—an advisory body…

Basseterre, St. Kitts, April 23, 2021 (RSCNPF): “We’ve seen people reaching out to the police,” said Inspector Alonzo Carty, as he spoke about how improved community relations have been bearing fruit in Nevis. Inspector Carty coordinates the community policing efforts in District ‘C’. “We’ve gotten information [about] certain activities as it relates to Nevis – illegal activities in Nevis – and so persons feel more comfortable approaching the police knowing that they can put a face to the name, and they feel a sense of trustworthiness to talk to the police so that their information is kept in strict confidence.…

As it turns out we need more than an apple a day to keep the doctor away. In fact, we need approximately 400 grams of fruits and vegetables daily according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the World Health Organization April 22 2021, Bridgetown, Barbados – Under the theme “Fruits and vegetables, your dietary essentials”, the International Year of Fruits and Vegetables (IYFV) offers the celebration of two food groups that we can all identify with and with which we all have a unique relationship. Its role in how we shape our ideas about the…

Basseterre, St. Kitts, April 23, 2021 (SKNIS): As the discussion to ban single-use plastics gains momentum, the Sustainable Destination Council (SDC) is strengthening its partnership with relevant stakeholders to promote a clean and healthy environment.Kenney Manning of the Sustainable Destination Council in the Ministry of Tourism said one such stakeholder is the Ministry of Environment in St. Kitts and Nevis.“We try to bring different ministries, departments, businesses together to collaborate on such initiatives as banning plastic bags and reembracing our former culture,” said Mr. Manning on the April 21 edition of Working for You. “We try to raise awareness, and…

Basseterre, St. Kitts, April 23, 2021 (SKNIS): Several young persons in St. Kitts were armed with additional information about the science and effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccine and why, to date, it remains the best way to end the global pandemic that has claimed more than three million lives around the world.On Thursday, April 22, 2021, the Department of Youth Empowerment hosted a sensitization session for youth volunteers, members of youth groups, and other partners at the CUNA Caribbean Conference Centre.Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Youth, Sports, and Culture, Valencia Syder, welcomed the participants to the forum. She added…