CARIBBEAN ROUNDUP
Antigua
Antigua and Barbuda Attorney General,
Steadroy “Cutie” Benjamin says
Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago have
requested additional time from the University
of the West Indies (UWI) to consider
the move by Antigua and Barbuda
to become the fourth regional campus
territory.
Speaking on state-owned ABS radio
and television recently, Benjamin said
that another meeting
of the council is to be
held on May 30 even
though the “committee
recommendations
have well been fully
accepted.”
He said it is only a formality just to
give those two nations an opportunity
to have further discussions on the matter.
B
enjamin said that Antigua and Barbuda
“has met every criterion to establish
the fourth landed campus on the
island.”
Last month, UWI Vice-Chancellor,
Sir Hilary Beckles held talks with the
government of Antigua and Barbuda
regarding the opening of the fourth
landed campus of the regional territory
institution.
The government said then that the
Five Islands Campus should be opened
in September with at least 1,000 students
and according to a Cabinet statement
issued in Antigua and Barbuda,
the Vice-Chancellor was invited by the
Government to announce the pending
decision of the Accreditation Council.
Prime Minister, Gaston Browne said
the campus would be opened in September
regardless of whether or not
there’s support from other Caribbean
countries.
Bahamas
The University of the West Indies
(UWI) School of Clinical Medicine and
Research (SCMR) has entered into a partnership
with the International Gynecological
Cancer Society
(IGCS) to reduce the
“unacceptable” rate of
ovarian cancer in the
Bahamas.
The partnership
also includes the University of Miami
(UM) and the Leonard Miller School of
Medicine.
SCMR Director, Dr. Robin Roberts,
said the two-year program will allow
specialists in obstetrics and gynecology
to further advance in the diagnosis
and treatment of cancers arising in the
reproductive organs of women and to
become designated gynecological cancer
experts.
He noted that every month one
woman dies from cancer of the cervix,
adding that in modern practice of medicine
Updated daily at www.caribbeanlifenews.com
The fl ag draped casket of the late Vincentian legislator, John Horne leaving parliament building in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
See story on Page 24. Bernard Wyllie
no woman should die from cervical
cancer.
Dr. Roberts described the partnership
as a “red letter” day in health care
in the Bahamas, noting that the Fellowship
was launched in July 2018 and
aims to “reduce” and eradicate” the
burden of female reproductive cancers
in “low resource’ countries including
The Bahamas.
Guyana
The Guyana Financial Intelligence
Unit (FIU) says students, housewives
and unemployed people are being used
by criminals and drug dealers to launder
funds on their behalf.
This was revealed by FIU Director,
Matthew Langevine who said the unit
has been receiving increasing numbers
of suspicious transaction reports, from
money transfers.
He said it has also
been discovered that
individuals involved in
offences tied to drug
and human trafficking and money laundering
are utilizing the services of the
students and unemployed people.
Langevine said students are being
used to send monies through these
money transfer agencies, as well as
housewives, and unemployed persons.
The FIU said last year, it received
330 suspicious transaction reports, the
majority of which came from money
transfer agencies and so far for this year
120 suspicious reports have been made
to the unit.
It said so far 12 reports have been
sent to the Special Organized Crime
Caribbean L 4 ife, May 10–16, 2019 BQ
Unit (SOCU) and that is has also been
receiving suspicious transactions from
several financial institutions, the Guyana
Gold Board (GGB) and gold dealers.
In its 2019 International Narcotic
Control Strategy Report on money laundering,
the United States noted that
Guyana’s National Risk Assessment.
St. Kitts
The St. Kitts-Nevis government said
it would provide EC$1million in emergency
funding for the cash-strapped
regional airline LIAT.
In a statement, Prime Minister, Timothy
Harris said that the funding follows
a presentation made by a three-member
delegation from LIAT last month and
the establishment of an advisory committee,
headed by Financial Secretary,
Hilary Hazel, to review the proposals
and make recommendations.
LIAT shareholder governments —
Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica
and St. Vincent and the Grenadines
— met in Antigua recently to discuss
the future of the airline amidst speculation
that it could be forced to shut down
because of the financial situation.
St. Vincent and the Grenadines Prime
Minister, Dr. Ralph
Gonsalves said last
month that the regional
airline may be forced
to close its operations
after Caribbean governments appear
reluctant to provide the necessary injection
needed to keep the airline flying.
Grenada has responded positively to
the call for US$5.4 million to help the
airline deal with its current financial
problem.
“The government of St. Kitts and
Nevis agrees in principle with the idea
of participating in and MRG (Minimum
Revenue Guarantee) arrangement on
the basis of further discussions and
negotiations with high-level representatives
of LIAT,” the statement said.
Trinidad
Trinidad and Tobago has the highest
suicide rate in the English-speaking
Caribbean.
This is according to acting principal
medical officer in the Ministry of
Health, Dr. Maryam Richards.
Addressing stakeholders at the opening
ceremony for the third International
Association for Suicide Prevention
(IASP) regional three-day symposium at
Hilton Trinidad, Port of Spain recently
Richards said suicide is the 15th leading
cause of death in all age groups in Trinidad
and Tobago, which is ranked 41st
out of 170 countries in the world for the
highest number of suicides with a rate of
14.5 per 100,000.
These figures, she said, do not capture
figures for attempted suicides and
the Caribbean region, like the rest of
the world, continues to lose people to
suicide at an alarming rate.
She said the World Health Organization
(WHO) 2014 statistics reveal globally,
approximately
one million people dies
from suicide every year,
a figure that translates
to one death every 40
seconds.
— Compiled by Azad Ali
ti
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