One month after the government announced its decision to add one percent to the five percent service charge at the Customs, the Public Service Union (PSU) is calling for it to be cancelled citing increase in cost of living, creating more poverty and negatively impacting the construction industry. In his budget address in early February, Minister of Finance and Economic Planning Camillo Gonsalves on Monday announced government’s intention to pass legislation to allow for an increase of one percent to be added to the Customs service charge which is expected to yield an increase of $10 million which will go…
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The economic impact from Covid-19 and the shift from traditional teaching and learning and the accompanying challenges have left teachers overwhelmed. That was essentially the comment made by president of St Vincent and the Grenadines Teachers Union Oswald Robinson during a press conference held at the union’s headquarters last Friday. “The psychological impact/mental health is an issue now, or has become more complex and compounded. “There were teachers who were at the point of resigning, you know. Because, people wanted a radical transformation, a radical transition and a lot of these teachers, especially older teachers, they did not have some…
Police are investigating a report of Theft made by a 21-year-old Field Officer of Sandy Bay against an unknown person(s). According to reports, the unknown perpetrator(s) allegedly stole two (2) boar pigs, and two (2) sow pigs valued at EC$1,700.00, the property of the virtual complainant. The animals are black in colour with spots of white. They were reportedly stolen in Sandy Bay between 24.02.21 and 02.03.2021. Person(s) with information that can assist with this investigation are asked to contact the Assistant Commissioner in charge of Crimes at 1-784-456-1339 or the officer in charge of the Eastern Division at 1-784-458-6229;…
Drone surveys and aerial photographs of the volcano were done at the La Soufriere Volcano on Wednesday 3rd March, 2021. The new seismic station constructed at the National Parks Interpretation Centre at Bamboo Range, on the eastern side of the volcano is operational. The streaming of data from this into the Seismic Research Centre (SRC) began on March 01, 2021. A new continuous Global Positioning System (GPS) monitoring station was installed at the monument recently constructed in Fancy. Work continued at the Belmont Observatory, on the installation of the seismic data acquisition system. Additional measurements of carbon dioxide in soil along the lower sides…
SAINT VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES, March 4, 2021 – To promote knowledge, understanding and friendship between peoples of Taiwan and St. Vincent and the Grenadines, the Government of the Republic of China (Taiwan) is offering two scholarship programmes, namely MOFA Taiwan Scholarship and TaiwanICDF Scholarship, to outstanding Vincentians to pursue studies in Taiwan commencing 2021 1. Non-degree Mandarin Language Enrichment Programme (LEP): 1 year maximum (only applicable to MOFA Taiwan Scholarship. Upon completion of LEP, the recipient must study for adegreeprogramme. Award periods must becontinuous, with no breaks, and cannot exceed a total of 5 years.); 2. Degree Programmes: (1)…
St. Vincent and the Grenadines today reported twelve (12) new positive cases from two hundred and twenty-one (221) samples received and processed on Wednesday March 3, 2021. All of these cases are patients from the Mental Health Rehabilitation Centre detected through ongoing contact tracing and screening. The positivity rate for Wednesday March 3, 2021 is 5.4%. Seventeen (17) persons were cleared bringing the number of total recoveries to nine hundred and seventy-one (971). Six hundred and seventy-nine (679) cases remain active and eight (8) persons with COVID-19 have died. One thousand, six hundred and fifty-eight (1658) cases of COVID-19 have…
An explosion blew out the windows of a COVID-19 testing centre in the town of Bovenkarpsel in North Holland, Dutch police said on Wednesday. Nobody was injured in the blast, which occurred just before 7am. Menno Hartenber, a spokesman for North Holland police, told Euronews “a small metal object or pipe, 10cm in length, was attached to the side of the COVID-19 test centre”. He told Euronews the loud blast was heard by people nearby, and it left five windows shattered. Dutch police added that they had cordoned off the area and were “investigating the explosive and its origin”. A…
Hundreds of long-suffering, out-of-work former LIAT workers have now created a special protest video for circulation across social media highlighting their plight for the non-payment of EC$119 million in outstanding entitlements including EC$79 million in severance outstanding for close to a year. With their cries for help seemingly falling on deaf ears and lamenting that too many of them are on the brink of losing their homes and other personal possessions, the terminated staffers representing various departments of the company have embarked on a virtual placard-bearing protest action. The video, which opens up to soft, haunting piano music and the…
Texas Governor Greg Abbott issued the most sweeping rollback of coronavirus restrictions of any U.S. state on Tuesday, lifting a mask mandate and saying most businesses may open at full capacity next week. Abbott’s executive order comes as many U.S. states and major cities see a sharp decline in coronavirus infections and hospitalisations begin to ease the unprecedented lockdowns put in place a year ago. “It is now time to open Texas 100%,” Abbott, a first-term Republican, told a news conference. He said the order would take full effect on March 10. The order lifts all mask requirements statewide and…
HAMILTON, Bermuda (CMC)— Bermuda on Wednesday, reintroduced a night-time curfew following a spike in coronavirus cases in the island, but Premier David Burt said he “took no joy” over the measure. Health Minister Kim Wilson said the move was made after the island suffered an “emerging outbreak” of COVID-19 which may be linked to the virulent UK strain of the virus. The curfew will run from midnight to 5:00 am (local time) and businesses will have to close at 11:00 pm, she announced at Tuesday night’s weekly media briefing. “The government takes no joy in re-implementing such measures. I take…