Exclusive: Text of Chris Gayle/WICB agreement

Here is the full text of the "statement of resolution" between Chris Gayle and the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) after mediation talks recently in St Vincent:

State of Resolution -- Chris Gayle Impasse

The West Indies Cricket Board and Mr. Christopher Gayle have brought closure to the impasse which has dogged their relationship for over a year and kept Mr Gayle out of the West Indies cricket team since April last year.  The resolution of this dispute in West Indian cricket has come about after a face-to-face meeting between WICB's President, Dr Julian Hunte, and Mr Gayle in St Vincent and the Grenadines.

Both sides admit that their respective shortcomings contributed to the debilitating impasse and its prolonged nature, and resolved to bring it to an end, in a spirit of reconciliation and in recognition of the fact that West Indian cricket takes our regional community beyond the boundary for our people's upliftment and ennoblement.  They agree that there are lessons to be learnt from this episode by all concerned, which ought to redound to the benefit of West Indies cricket.

They affirm that West Indies Cricket is bigger than everyone.

Accordingly, each side further agreed to make certain statements, declarations, and commitments.

For his part, Mr Gayle:

1.     Expressed his regret for making an earlier contentious statement which could have been interpreted, and was so interpreted in several responsible quarters, as bringing the Board and Management of West Indies cricket into disrepute.

2.     Reaffirmed his commitment of support to the players on the team and the team management, inclusive of his solemn pledge as a senior professional to be an exemplar to his fellow professionals, especially the younger ones

3.     Declared an unwavering solidarity with the people of this region, including the WICB, in their quest to restore West Indian cricket to its former glory, a condition which in part touches upon, and reflects, a further ennoblement of our Caribbean civilization.

 

For its part, the WICB though its President:

1.       Reaffirmed its unequivocal commitment to serving the people of our region by striving for excellence in West Indian cricket and the advancing of the tried and tested values of our Caribbean civilization.

2.       Declared that the WICB's disciplinary process is outdated which undoubtedly contributed to the length of time that this impasse or dispute took to be resolved

3.       Expressed its firm intention to review all existing arrangements or codes, within the context of its ICC obligations and the applicable law, touching and concerning a range of relevant issues including discipline and players' eligibility for selection, which review is to be done in concert with the West Indies Players' Association (WIPA).

4.       Accepted Mr Gayle's statement of regret as sincere; welcomed his reaffirmed commitment to West Indian cricket, the team and the management; and embraced him in his pledge to be an exemplar as a senior professional.

In light of all this, WICB and Mr Gayle agree that the way is now clear for his active return to West Indian crick subject to all necessary and formal arrangements.

Both the WICB and Mr Gayle hereby express profound thanks and gratitude to a number of persons who facilitated this satisfactory resolution, including Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer of Antigua and Barbuda, who is also Chairman of CARICOM's Prime Ministerial Sub-Committee on Cricket, Prime Minister Ralph E. Gonsalves of St Vincent and the Grenadines, Mr Michael Holding, and Mr Elson Crick of the Prime Minister's Office in St Vincent and the Grenadines, who is also a member of the WICB.

(Signed by Julian Hunte and Christopher Gayle)

SOURCE: 

http://caribbeancricket.com/news/2012/03/28/3453

Barbados PM agrees to meet with REDjet

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, Monday March 26, 2012 – Barbados Prime Minister, Mr. Freundel Stuart, has agreed to meet with management of low-cost carrier, REDjet.

According to reports Mr. Stuart has however cautioned the airline that the meeting was not an indication that government was willing to subsidise the airline.

REDjet suspended all of its flights on March 16 stating that it needed $8 million in assistance to return to the skies.

However, the Prime Minister stated that the airline’s contribution to regional travel could not be under-estimated as CARICOM was Barbados’ third largest market.

Government officials are in discussion with REDjet management, and Mr. Stuart has given the assurance that the entire picture will be taken into consideration before a final decision is made.

SOURCE: http://www.caribbean360.com/index.php/news/barbados_news/563885.html#ixzz1qK6btHh8

Three men slashed and killed following domestic disputes

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, Monday March 26, 2012 – Three men were stabbed to death in less than 24 hours following separate domestic disputes incidents between Friday afternoon and the early hours of Saturday morning.

And, police are today questioning a woman and a man in connection with two of those incidents, and are looking for a third man in connection with the last incident.

Dead are Mr. Sylvan Trotman, 55, of Sanford, St. Philip, Mr. Macolm Husbands, 45, of 2nd Avenue, Welchman Hall, St. Thomas and Mr. James Jackman, 45, of Greenfields, The City.

The bloody period started on Friday afternoon when Mr. Trotman received multiple stab wounds on Friday around 4 p.m. following an altercation with a relative.  He was rushed to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital where he later died. The relative, a man, is said to be in police custody.

By 9 p.m. police were called to the murder scene of Mr. Jackman who died following a domestic dispute with his female friend at his home. That woman is also now in police custody assisting with that investigation.

And, by 5 a.m. lawmen were looking at the body of Mr. Husbands whose throat was cut by an assailant after he opened the door of his home to see who threw a rock through his window. His female friend who was in the house at the time was also attacked. Their attacker fled the scene but has since been apprehended by police.

Investigations into the three murders are continuing.

Read more: http://www.caribbean360.com/index.php/news/barbados_news/563886.html#ixzz1qK5ZDR00

Four die following Bahamas plane crash

NASSAU, Bahamas, Monday March 26, 2012 – Four people died when their plane crashed in the Bahamas just minutes after take-off yesterday.

The four, two women and two men died when their plane crashed into some trees and exploded around 1:30 p.m. after taking off from the Treasure Cay’s Airport on Abaco Island while en route to Florida.

It is understood that the victims, believed to be American citizens, and whose identities are being withheld for now, are second homeowners who travel frequently to and from that island.

Initial reports are that all those travelling on the single engine, six-seater aircraft were burnt beyond recognition.

Civil aviation officials and lawmen from the Royal Bahamas Police Force are investigating.

Read more: http://www.caribbean360.com/index.php/news/bahamas_news/563887.html#ixzz1qK4YQAiI

CHRIS GAYLE UNLIKELY TO RETURN FOR AUSTRALIAN SERIES

AAP March 22, 2012 7:04am

CHRIS Gayle appears set to miss all of Australia's tour of the Caribbean after a meeting with West Indies Cricket Board officials failed to bring about a positive resolution.

 Gayle had reportedly been set to end his feud with the board, which has kept the explosive batsman out of international cricket since last year's World Cup.

But it's believed a difference of opinion over whether Gayle should be allowed to honour his Indian Premier League contract instead of representing the West Indies caused Monday's talks in St Vincent to break down.

The 32-year-old wasn't in the squad named by West Indies selectors for the final two one-day internationals against Australia in St Lucia and it appears he will remain on the outer for the rest of the tour, with another meeting unlikely to take place.

The Windies have made one change to their squad, with Adrian Barath replacing opener Kieran Powell.

Barath missed selection for the first three ODIs due to injury but proved his fitness with a century for Trinidad and Tobago against Guyana last weekend.

The fourth match of the series against Australia, which is locked at 1-1 after the third match ended in a tie, will be played at the Beausejour Stadium in St Lucia on Friday (Saturday AEDT).

Link:

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/cricket/chris-gayle-unlikely-to-return-for-australian-series/story-fn67w6pa-1226306785226

Maximum term sought for Jamaican drug lord Coke

NEW YORK—U.S. authorities say Jamaican drug kingpin Christopher “Dudus” Coke was so ruthless that he once ordered a rival killed with a chainsaw.

CHRISTOPHER "DUDUS" COKE

However, another episode left a more lasting impression with the general public: He was arrested wearing a curly black wig.

A mug shot of Coke wearing the wig as a disguise while on the run went viral on the Internet after his capture in Jamaica during a bloody siege of his ghetto stronghold in 2010 that left more than 70 dead. At the time, he waived extradition to the United States and vowed to fight drug trafficking, gun smuggling, racketeering and other charges.

But following a guilty plea last year, Coke faces up to 23 years in prison at sentencing this week in federal court in Manhattan.

The 43-year-old Coke has sought mercy in a letter to the judge — seven handwritten pages that in tone are formal and polite but in substance barely touch upon a litany of accusations painting him as a cold-blooded killer.

“Good day to you, sir,” he wrote. “I am humbly asking if you could be lenient on me.”

Prosecutors have argued that leniency isn’t an option. They want Coke to serve the maximum term and be deported.

Coke was a divisive figure in Jamaica, where he followed in the footsteps of his father, Lester Lloyd Coke, better known as Jim Brown, a leader of the notorious Shower Posse during the 1980s cocaine wars. Authorities say he took over the organization when his father, also sought in the United States, died in a mysterious fire in a Jamaican prison cell in 1992.

Once in power, Coke became a folk hero to some followers in the West Kingston slum of Tivoli Gardens. He listed his good deeds in his letter to the judge — throwing Easter parties for seniors, passing out school supplies and Christmas gifts to children and starting a school to teach computer skills to the disadvantaged.

“I implemented a lot of social programs for the residents of my community — programs that teach them about self-empowerment,” he wrote.

The court has received other letters of support from Jamaica. One man described how “Dudus” started youth soccer leagues, paid medical bills for sick neighbours and even helped children with their homework. “Peace is the answer,” it says was his constant message.

The altruism won Coke loyalty and political clout in Tivoli Gardens. But authorities allege his hold on power came at a severe cost that had repercussions in the United States.

In court papers, federal prosecutors call Tivoli Gardens “a garrison community” patrolled by Coke’s young henchmen armed with illegal weapons bought on the black market in the United States and smuggled into Jamaica. The enforcers’ job included guarding stash houses, punishing anyone who challenged Coke’s monopoly on the drug trade and using intimidation to influence elections, the papers said.

Anyone who crossed Coke was detained and subjected to harsh punishments. One person accused of thievery “was brought to the ‘jail,’ tied down and killed by Coke with a chainsaw,” the court papers say.

In the U.S., Coke controlled a network of large-scale drug dealers who would send him “tribute” payments of cash, electronics or guns, court papers say. On wiretaps, Coke “discussed with them the number and types of firearms they were sending and the methods of packaging,” the papers say.

The firearms “were crucial to Coke’s ability to maintain his power within, and control over the Tivoli Gardens area,” prosecutors wrote.

Prosecutors also allege Coke relied on women to smuggle cocaine — concealed in condoms and inserted into their vaginas — into the United States on commercial flights to New York City or Miami. One woman who refused to do it was gang-raped and murdered, the court papers say.

Several women abused by Coke’s gang in Jamaica have written to the sentencing judge asking him to give the defendant a harsh punishment. They’ve also insisted on anonymity.

“I might be targeted for death by the Shower Posse if this letter is brought to the public record,” the woman wrote. “But this letter is my contribution to Jamaica and the Jamaicans for their future.”

SOURCE: http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/1144919--maximum-term-sought-for-jamaican-drug-lord-coke

Second Obama term worrisome for Caribbean financial centres

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, Thursday March 8, 2012 – The prospect of a second term in office for United States president Barack Obama has caused some concern for the future of international financial centres across the Caribbean and further afield.

Irish economics lecturer Steve Kinsella has cautioned that countries like Barbados, which allow multinationals corporations tax savings on their profits will almost certainly be targeted if US President Barack Obama wins re-election in November.

Writing in the “Irish Independent” on March 6, the University of Limerick lecturer said international financial centres like Ireland and Bermuda were being branded as “tax havens” by the cash-strapped US administration.

“We will tremble before the US Internal Revenue Service,” he says. “Noises are being made as part of the US presidential election. The fact that so many US multinationals are availing of tax havens abroad is beginning to dawn on a cash-strapped US administration.

“If re-elected, Obama may close off the dozens of tax loopholes multinationals currently use, cutting Ireland’s recovery off before it starts.”

Last month the Obama administration took aim at so-called corporate tax havens in a proposed overhaul of the US corporate tax system which would lower the tax rate for companies and try to encourage job creation in the United States.

US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner expressed disdain for the current business tax system, calling it “uncompetitive, unfair and inefficient” and riddled with special favours.

According to the “Wall Street Journal”, the White House plan would eliminate “dozens” of tax loopholes and use the savings to lower the top income-tax rate for corporations to 28% from 35%.

To stop multinationals from shifting profits to low-tax jurisdictions, the administration would set out the rate for the new minimum tax on foreign earnings.

Upward of US$100 billion in taxes are avoided annually by big corporations by booking their profits outside the US in offshore financial centres.

Corporate tax avoidance became a hot-button issue in the US last year after the Bloomberg financial news service revealed details of Internet giant Google’s use of a network of off-shore financial centres including Bermuda to cut its tax bill by more than $3 billion in three years.

Recently the US Senate Permanent Subcommittee On Investigations issued highly critical report on the subject, citing multinationals’ use of offshore financial centres suche as the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands and Switzerland to reduce — or entirely eliminate — their American tax bills.

Source: : http://www.caribbean360.com/index.php/business/559864.html#ixzz1ogGRproN

Massive solar storm heading for Earth

The sun is the source of all energy! It brings light and warmth to all life on Earth, but it has a temper too. It gets angry sometimes! The anger is expressed as “solar flares, eruptions and other sun storms which can have serious effects to satellites and other systems around or on Earth."

Here is an article written by David Batty, a news editor and reporter of the UK Guardian. Mr Batty’s specialist areas are visual art, higher education, the Middle East and social affairs. He has worked at the Guardian since 2001 and was previously a health correspondent.

"Airlines and energy suppliers are on alert as the largest solar storm in five years heads toward Earth, threatening to disrupt flights and power lines.

The eruption on the surface of the sun, known as a coronal mass ejection (CME), has led to a "massive amount of solar particles heading towards Earth", which are due to hit the planet between 6am and 10am on Thursday morning, a Met Office spokesman said. But he added that the phenomenon was likely to go unnoticed by most.

The forecaster has advised airlines that they may reroute planes from near the polar regions where the radiation caused by the storm is likely to be most intense, while energy suppliers have been warned that the National Grid could also be affected.

Solar storms can also cause communication problems, such as radio blackouts, as well as affecting satellites, disrupting oil pipelines and making global positioning systems (GPS) less accurate.

"It should arrive some time tomorrow morning and last through tomorrow," the Met Office spokesman added. "In terms of what that means from the public's point of view, there's an increased chance of aurora borealis or Northern Lights being seen if conditions are right and the skies are clear."

But Gemma Plumb, a forecaster with Meteogroup, said most of the UK would be cloudy during the solar storm.

She said: "From midnight there will be widespread cloud so there is unlikely to be much visibility."

Forecasters at the US government's Space Weather Prediction Center said the storm is growing in intensity as it speeds outward from the sun. The charged particles hit Earth at 4 million mph (6.4 million kph).

Nasa solar physicist Alex Young said: "It could give us a bit of a jolt."

The solar storm is likely to last until Friday morning, although further eruptions may follow.

In North America, auroras or Northern Lights could stretch as far south as the Great Lakes states or even lower, but a full moon will make them hard to see, said Joe Kunches, a scientist for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Solar storms have three ways they can disrupt technology on Earth: with magnetic, radio and radiation emissions. This is an unusual situation when all three types of emissions are likely to be strong, Kunches said.

In 1989, a strong solar storm knocked out the power grid in Quebec, Canada, leaving 6 million people without power.

Harlan Spence, an astrophysicist at the University of New Hampshire who is principal investigator on the Cosmic Ray Telescope for the Effects of Radiation (CRaTER) aboard Nasa's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, said the sun was on the ascendant phase of its 11-year cycle of solar activity, with the peak expected next year.

"It's a clear harbinger that the Sun is waking up," Spence told Reuters.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2012/mar/07/massive-solar-storm-heading-earth

Bird Bats For Portia

The article below is reproduced from Jamaica's Sunday Gleaner (of March 04, 2012).

Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller got solid support from former Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda Lester Bird, who was scorching as he blasted the West Indies Cricket Board's treatment of Jamaica in the ongoing Chris Gayle impasse.

"I wish to touch on the point of the response of Dr Hilaire to the prime minister of Jamaica, the Hon. Portia Simpson Miller," declared Bird in a statement. "In his (Dr Hilaire's) response, he indicated that she did not know the facts and even reference how she should deal with a cabinet minister was at variance with her administration.

"Let me say to Dr Hilaire, your response was disrespectful. You and the prime minister of Jamaica are not of the same rank. If you wish to be involved in matters of this level, you need some advice or training in diplomacy. We must maximise the power of cricket as an integrating force and use it to bind us as Caribbean people, not divide us.

Bird, a former member of the Board, was scorching as he blasted the WICB, describing it as incompetent and West Indies cricket a farce.

He charged that Jamaica was being punished for the impasse between Gayle and the WICB. He asserted that Jamaica should always be included in a touring cricket itinerary. "It does appear that true to the management style of the West Indies Cricket Board, it is a decision to punish Jamaica for its decision to pick Gayle for national duty," he asserted.

Bird was also critical of its treatment of the Gayle issue. "It is time the WICB take the lead to come to an amicable solution to this outstanding matter," he said. "The problem began when the coach, Otis Gibson, ill-advisedly and unprofessionally castigated senior members of the West Indies team publicly.

"Had Gibson been a coach to an Australian team or English team or any other Test team, he would never have tried that or if he had, he would have been fired summarily," said Bird.

Lack of understanding

Bird suggested that it was an act that demonstrated Gibson's lack of understanding of the art or skills of human relations. "Naturally, the senior players reacted - Shivnarine Chanderpaul threatened to take the WICB to court, Chris Gayle made his criticisms public and Sarwan's own self-confidence has been badly affected and probably permanently shattered. The root of the problem is obvious.

"I want to make a call for the reinstatement of Chris Gayle. As far as I am concerned, he is more valuable to our cricket that Julian Hunte, Dr Ernest Hilaire, Otis Gibson and Darren Sammy, singly and collectively," charged Bird.

He said: "If there was any doubt about the incompetence of the West Indies cricket administration or hope of a resurrected West Indies, the scheduling of the forthcoming Australian tour provides ample evidence of an organisation that suffers from both incompetence and insensitivity."

Bird was clearly incensed that the islands with comparatively small population will be hosting the upcoming matches against Australia - (1) one-day international to be played in St Vincent; three to be played in St Lucia and a Test match in Dominica.

"In other words, over 50 per cent of the matches would be played in a grouping whose population represents less than eight per cent of the cricket-loving population of the English-speaking Caribbean," argued Bird.

"If the argument is the cost, then it is improbable to think that a third one-day in St Lucia, or a third one-day in St Vincent would be more profitable than a single one-day in a more populated country such as Jamaica or even Antigua," he added, "Given the fact that Jamaica is so far in the north and it is costly for Jamaicans to travel to the other parts of the Caribbean."

He said Gibson is not a good coach, having failed the test to prove his ability to manage senior players who have their own strong personalities. "He tries to convince us that the future of West Indies cricket lies with a bunch of inexperienced young players." Bird suggested that the problem lies with Gibson's own personality "and frankly speaking, incompetence and unprofessionalism".

SOURCE: 

http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20120304/lead/lead2.html

Lester Bird calls on WICB to end Gayle shut-out

By STABROEK STAFF

ST JOHN’S, Antigua,  CMC – Former Antigua and Barbuda prime minister Lester Bird has called on the West Indies Cricket Board to end its shut out of Chris Gayle and has given head coach Ottis Gibson a failing grade for his management of the team’s senior players.

In a candid, hard-hitting release, Bird said Gayle was too important to the success of the regional side to be isolated and said the WICB needed to “take the lead” in finding a solution to the long-running impasse.

Lester Bird

Gayle, one of World cricket’s most destructive openers, has not played for West Indies in almost a year since he was highly critical of the Board and Gibson in a highly charged interview with a Jamaica radio station following last year’s World Cup.

“As far as I am concerned he (Gayle) is more valuable to our cricket than (WICB president) Julian Hunte, (WICB chief executive) Dr. Ernest Hilaire, Ottis Gibson and (West Indies captain) Darren Sammy singly and collectively,” Bird contended.

“A team derives market value and draw crowds from two things, either the team is formidable and has a winning record or it has batting or bowling stars that draw crowds.

“Today we have neither. We need a new structure to propel West Indies cricket forward and we need it urgently.”

Chris Gayle

Bird also blamed Gibson for the impasse, arguing that it was the coach’s public criticisms of the senior players following the team’s failure at the World Cup, that triggered the controversy.

While not singling out any player, Gibson told reporters following West Indies’ exit from the tournament that the senior players “didn’t stand up”.

“Gibson should have been able as good coaches do to renew and re-energize senior players as (Ramnaresh) Sarwan, Chris Gayle, (Shivnarine) Chanderpaul and (Dwayne) Bravo, deepen their commitment to the development of West Indies cricket and themselves,” argued Bird.

“Instead he has alienated them and I am sure many others who for fear have failed to come forward. It is clear that these are not happy times and it is also clear that Gibson is not a good coach having failed the test to prove his ability to manage senior players who do have their own strong personalities he tries to convince us that the future of West Indies cricket lies with a bunch of inexperienced young players.

“The problem is his own personality and frankly speaking incompetence and unprofessionalism.”

Ottis Gibson

He added: “When a coach is chosen for an American Baseball team, the main skill required of the coach is to manage egos as Kobe Bryan, Lebron James, etc. and mould them into an effective team. Our coach has failed miserably in this.”

The WICB has mandated Gayle retract his comments before being considered for selection again but the player has refused.

Unless a solution is found hastily, the Jamaican is unlikely to feature in Australia’s tour of the Caribbean starting later this month.

Source: http://www.stabroeknews.com/2012/sports/03/05/lester-bird-calls-on-wicb-to-end-gayle-shut-out/

THE AMAZING SCORPION!

Following the news that the Cubans have discovered a cancer-fighting drug using the venom from the scorpion, I thought I should share some information on this rather uncanny creature! The source of the article is NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC and WIKIPEDIA.  i have tried to paraphrase where possible; but I have also "plagiarized" where I wanted to keep the original words of the author! 

Also at the end of the short article, I have shared some findings extracted from Wikipedia.

“Scorpions are tough. Some species are able to change their metabolic rate, allowing them live on one meal per year and even survive being stored in a freezer overnight.”

Scorpions are closely related to spiders, mites, and ticks. Although, they are generally believed to be “desert dwellers”, they also live in forests. They have been around for hundreds of millions of years, and they are known for their uncanny ability to survive.

There are about 2,000 scorpion species, but only 30 have strong enough poison to kill a person.

Scorpions eat insects, but their diet can be extremely variable depending on where they live. When food is scarce, the scorpion has an incredible ability to slow down its metabolism to as little as one-third the typical rate for arthropods. This ability enables some species to use little oxygen and live on as little as a single insect per year. Yet even with lowered metabolism, the scorpion has the ability to spring quickly to the hunt when the opportunity presents itself—a gift that many hibernating species lack.

Such survival skills allow scorpions to live in some of the planet's harshest surroundings. Researchers have even frozen scorpions overnight, only to put them in the sun the next day and watch them thaw out and walk away. But there is one thing scorpions have a difficult time living without—soil. They are burrowing animals, so in areas of permafrost or heavy grasses, where loose soil is not available, scorpions may not be able to survive.

source: http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/bugs/scorpion/

Eating scorpions in Beijing, China: Fried scorpion is a traditional dish from Shandong, China.

As a part of Chinese medicine, scorpion wine and snake wine are used as analgesic and antidote.

Scorpion and snake wine (Was available in Piaye not too long ago) 

The deathstalker has powerful venom. 

"Iranian researchers have also reported that the venom of a certain species of scorpions has anti-inflammatory properties and is effective as an anti-arthritis treatment in an experimental species model, but the mechanism of action is unknown"

The key ingredient of the venom is a scorpion toxin protein

Scorpion sting and venom

"All known scorpion species possess venom and use it primarily to kill or paralyze their prey so that it can be eaten; in general, it is fast-acting, allowing for effective prey capture. It is also used as a defense against predators. The venom is a mixture of compounds (neurotoxins, enzyme inhibitors, etc.) each not only causing a different effect, but possibly also targeting a specific animal. Each compound is made and stored in a pair of glandular sacs and is released in a quantity regulated by the scorpion itself. Of the 1000+ known species of scorpion, only 25 have venom that is dangerous to humans"

ST. LUCIA: STRICTER RULES FOR ACCEPTING FOREIGN ARTISTES

CASTRIES, St. Lucia, CMC – The St. Lucia government has warned promoters that it will be putting in place stringent measures, to ensure that visiting artistes conform to the laws of the country.

The announcement follows a no show by Jamaican artiste, Mavado for the third consecutive occasion, as well as non-appearances by Jamaican performers.

Scores of patrons were left frustrated over the weekend, after several foreign artistes including Gyptian of Jamaica and Peter Ram of Barbados, failed to turn up for a show that would have featured the best of local reggae talent.

Tourism and Creative Industries Lorne Theophilius said that he is extremely concerned at what is becoming a regular occurrence, adding that while government does not want to place an extra burden on artistes, regulations must be put in place to ensure that St. Lucians are not short changed.

“We need to do certain background checks to ensure that there is a certain measure of credibility so that at the end of the day out people are not left holding the short end of the stick.

“It is a move that has now become very necessary because the fact that it has happened on three occasions in the case of one particular artiste shows that some regulations are necessary so that we do not have another such instance as has happened in the past,” Theophilius said.

Former executive director of the Cultural Development Foundation, Teddy Francis, said the authorities should vet promoters based on a criteria that includes financial stability before being allowed to produce any show on the island.

Source: http://go-jamaica.com/news/read_article.php?id=35301

New cancer fighting drug to be introduced

CASTRIES, St. Lucia, Wednesday February 29, 2012 – A new cancer fighting drug is expected to be introduced to St. Lucia next month.

The drug, Vidatox 30CH, made from the venom of a scorpion indigenous to Cuba, will be introduced to the country by a team from Cuba’s Labiofam Entrepreneurial Group, the Cuban Government’s arm of medical and biological research in Cuba.

The team is on a Caribbean tour to promote the drug, which was researched over the last 15 years, throughout the region, with St. Lucia being their first stop from March 7 to 9.

Following the upcoming visit, the drug should become available to over the counter to cancer patients looking for relief and a cure from cancer diseases.

Vidatox 30CH assists with prolonging the life of cancer patients by boosting their immune systems, reducing their pain, and in some instances destroying cancerous tumours. This includes tumours found in the pancreas, bone marrow, prostate, lungs and other organs.

Source: http://www.caribbean360.com/index.php/news/st_lucia_news/558039.html#ixzz1nt24YroC