Author: SKNISEditor

Basseterre, St. Kitts, February 11, 2021 (SKNIS): Being a homosexual can result in rejection by family, being ostracized by the community, fear of getting tested for HIV/AIDS, and even serving jail time. Against this backdrop, health officials in St. Kitts and Nevis said that decriminalizing homosexuality is critical to combatting HIV/AIDS. “If you criminalize that situation, that process [homosexuality], it stops the people from coming out and being able to do the test. If I am coming out to do the test as a homosexual individual, you will jail me for that… so I will not want to come. As such, it…

Basseterre, St. Kitts, February 11, 2021 (SKNIS): With the emergence of new variants of the Coronavirus and the possibility of them reaching the Federation, it is necessary for persons to continue adhering to the prevention and control measures, says Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Hazel Laws.Dr. Laws was at the time speaking at the National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC) Press Briefing on February 10. She said that wearing face masks is very important at this time.“As a matter of fact, the latest information coming out is that wearing two masks is going to provide you that additional protection against the new variants,”…

The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) continues to monitor very closely, and views with deep concern, developments in Haiti. The Community urges all stakeholders to be guided by the Constitution, respect for the rule of law and the electoral process and in that regard is heartened by the fact that an electoral timetable has been set. The Community is also deeply anguished about the security situation including the actions of armed gangs which threaten the maintenance of law and order in the country and disrupt the lives and livelihoods of its citizens. The Community encourages all parties to engage in meaningful dialogue in…

Effective 6 January 2021, the ECSRC approved the grant of an InvestmentAdviser Licence to Michael McDonald Millar of Barbados.This licence authorises Millar to advise people concerning investment insecurities; issue analyses or reports concerning specific securities and offerinvestment portfolio management services without holding property of the otherperson and on terms that preclude him from doing so.Millar is an experienced investment manager and the first Investment Adviser to belicensed by the Eastern Caribbean Securities Regulatory Commission to operate in theEastern Caribbean Securities Market (ECSM). Millar is a Chartered Financial Analystand a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst. He also holds a Bachelor of ScienceDegree…

Basseterre, St. Kitts, February 11, 2021 (SKNIS): According to the Financial Times, which is an international daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs, the World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (Sage) has stated that the Oxford/AstraZeneca Vaccine can be used by all adults, even the elderly, worldwide.Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Hazel Laws, reported this during her presentation at the National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC) Press Briefing on February 10, 2021.“The vaccine can be used by all people over the age of 18 years in all countries,” she…

An invitation to attend a livestock meeting is being extended to livestock farmers and livestock owners who are operating in the areas of: -Dieppe Bay through Saddlers to Brighton on Monday 22nd Feb, 2021 at 6 pm -Old Road through Sandy Point to St. Pauls on Tuesday 23rd Feb, 2021 at 6 pm -Challengers through Basseterre to Cayon including St. Peters on Wednesday 24th Feb, 2021 at 6 pm. Each meeting will be held in the large conference room at the Department of Agriculture, La Guerite. Please make a special effort to attend. See you there! Thanks in advance.–

Basseterre, St. Kitts, February 11, 2021 (SKNIS): Dr. Mathias Ofre, St. Kitts & Nevis National HIV/AIDS Programme Coordinator said that HIV/AIDS is not a gay disease because it does not discriminate with respect to a person’s sexual orientation. Dr. Ofre was at the time speaking on the radio and television show “Working for You” on February 10, 2021. “Straight individuals can get infected,” he said. “That’s why we said that having unprotected vaginal or anal sex, could predispose an individual to be infected. It is not just for the gay population.” The National HIV/AIDS Programme Coordinator said education about…

BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, February 11, 2021 (Press Unit in the Office of the Prime Minister) – Understanding that tertiary level education makes one of the greatest contributions to the Federation’s overall growth and development, the Dr. the Honourable Timothy Harris-led Team Unity administration remains resolute in its commitment to assist its citizens and residents to pursue and achieve a higher education. PrimeMinister Harris gave this reassurance when he addressed the Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine Scholarship Awards Ceremony on Wednesday, February 10. At that ceremony, students of the Clarence Fitzroy Bryant College (CFBC) and the Nevis Sixth Form College…

Basseterre, St. Kitts, February 11, 2021 (SKNIS): Thanks to the Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine (RUSVM) Scholarships Awards Programme, 19 students, 17 from St. Kitts and two from Nevis, were awarded scholarships to pursue studies at the Clarence Fitzroy Bryant College (CFBC) and the Nevis Sixth Form College.Four years ago, Ross University established the Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine Scholarships Awards Programme and this was instituted to award academically deserving students, who have had a financial need that would otherwise have made it difficult for them to attend the Clarence Fitzroy Bryant College or the Nevis Sixth Form College.Totalling…

 The Director of the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), Magdy Martínez-Solimán, and the Director General of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), Manuel Otero, participated in a virtual meeting during which they agreed to develop a joint work agenda that focuses on Central America and some Caribbean countries, starting with Haiti. The main objective of the meeting was to learn about the roadmap for international cooperation of the Director of AECID, who took office in September 2020. Both institutions have a long history of cooperation that they hope to strengthen during this new period. “We agreed…