purse containing $300 in cash. But this time Belasse was determined to catch her robber – she says when he approached her with a knife and attempted to get away with her possessions, she chased him down calling for assistance in the process. And although the young woman may have lost her shoes she gained her possessions and the young attacker who in his attempt at escape jumped fences injuring himself in the process with what appears to be a broken arm and cuts to his neck and hands.

He kept insisting he was not alone – that an accomplice was waiting for him on the Morne field. The boy was confronted by HTS reporter lovely St Aimee who was earlier this year a victim of an attack as were many others including a woman who was stabbed multiple times in her arm. The police would eventually arrive at our studios to escort the 14 year old male downtown vowing to search for his young accomplice.

The attacks on the Morne have been varied and frequent in the past year – most of the victims have been female with the identical stories – two young men approached and attacked them, robbing them of their possessions in the process. So frequent were the attacks – including an attempted rape of a young continuing education student who has since quit her program – the college fenced its campus, cut down a number of trees and had officers on ready alert. Morne residents will probably sleep well thinking their attackers have finally been caught.

The Prime Minister admits the leading indicators are down but there is a cautiously optimistic outlook for modest growth. The island is also tackling issues related to its offshore financial services sector. On Tuesday the government signed a tax information exchange treaty with the Netherlands in keeping with an OECD mandate for more disclosure from offshore financial jurisdictions and tax havens on their earnings.

Director of Finance, Isaac Anthony explains in the wake of the global financial meltdown, the developed countries of the G20 have been pressing for tighter regulation and transparency. He is confident St. Lucia will meet its obligations and avoid being permanently blacklisted. The Prime Minister says the government is fully aware of the ramifications of failing to comply with the international protocols.

The island is also expected to sign and ratify treaties with Belgium and settle pending agreements with the United States and Canada on offshore financial service matters.

Blaize Nickson says both women were presented with a basic core structure Nickson says the government has two main reasons for moving residents. The first is to relocate them away from the current squalor-like conditions where they reside. The second is an economic reason that will benefit the entire country.

The handover ceremony was held on Wednesday afternoon in the Babonneau community. Both women say they are delighted to be away from the area they used to call home – thrilled to be starting over in a new place and home.

ONE Chairman Peter Alexander says Senator Guy Mayers is at fault for not providing the police with adequate tools to carry out their duties. Alexander says this latest unfulfilled promise is evidence of widespread neglect of the police force.

He says although measures have been outlined by the government to improve the Royal St. Lucia Police Force - to date very few of these measures have been implemented. Alexander says now is the time for government officials to deliver on their promises.

Alexander says the way forward for strengthening the police force is a comprehensive review followed by the adoption of the strategies to come out of that review. Internal Security Minister, Senator Guy Mayers, was unavailable for comment due to an overseas trip. However he has in the past voiced his commitment to introduce alternative weapons like Taser Guns to the police – stating they could make for a more efficient police force.

automatic .45 firearm and eight rounds of ammunition, respectively. The men were taken into police custody, where a charge was preferred against Placide for the possession of firearm and Mc Lauren was charged for the possession of ammunition.
They appeared in court on Monday the 30th of November, 2009, where they each pleaded guilty to the charge. Placide was fined the sum of $6000.00EC, of which $3000.00 was due to be paid forthwith or in default, three months imprisonment and the balance to be paid on the 29th of January, 2010, or in default, three months imprisonment. McLauren was fined the sum of  $5000.00EC, of which $2500.00 was due to be paid forthwith or in default three months imprisonment and the balance, also to be paid on the 29th of January, 2010 or in default three months imprisonment.

automatic .45 firearm and eight rounds of ammunition, respectively. The men were taken into police custody, where a charge was preferred against Placide for the possession of firearm and Mc Lauren was charged for the possession of ammunition.

They appeared in court on Monday the 30th of November, 2009, where they each pleaded guilty to the charge. Placide was fined the sum of $6000.00EC, of which $3000.00 was due to be paid forthwith or in default, three months imprisonment and the balance to be paid on the 29th of January, 2010, or in default, three months imprisonment. McLauren was fined the sum of  $5000.00EC, of which $2500.00 was due to be paid forthwith or in default three months imprisonment and the balance, also to be paid on the 29th of January, 2010 or in default three months imprisonment.

programs Joseph explains revamping the marketing board was necessary because the old business module and the previous location were not ideally suited to the unique management challenges facing the agency. Wednesday, Engineers briefed agricultural officials on the feasibility of a plan and the proposed construction of a vast complex that will serve as a headquarters for the Ministry of Agriculture.

The Minister says meetings are frequently at the department and divisional levels to assess the level of progress made on various projects and policy programs. The mid-term review was held at the Ministry of Communications and Works conference at Union.

and Foetal Alcohol Syndrome. He says people can also learn about various strategies that can be employed to teach children with disabilities.

Maxius says parents and guardians of children with disabilities have turned away from sending their children to the institution because of the stigma that is attached to the school. He wants to debunk the popular notion that students at the Dunnottar School are incapable of learning – he says teachers are working hard fight stigma and discrimination. The open house and exhibition will be hosted on Thursday and Friday from 10 am to 2pm at the school grounds.

However the National Emergency Management Organisation (NEMO) has cautioned that this year’s relatively inactive hurricane season should not encourage complacency on the part of the public. Meanwhile - the NEMO Deputy Director – Joe Dubois - says plans are in place to provide support for any cases of drought throughout the dry season. The issue has been raised in the past few months because of the small amount of rainfall recorded during the hurricane season.

covers twenty percent of the overall cost of hosting the event. Platinum sponsor Digicel is contributing one hundred thousand dollars of support behind the ARC festival. Country Manager, Keigan Cox, says the yachting sector needs to be promoted throughout the island – sailing – he says – is not an activity for an exclusive group of persons. Cox says the task now is to get St. Lucians to rally around the festival, giving participants a true feel of the island and a taste of Lucian culture.

Activities for this year’s ARC will commence on Friday with ARC in the Park at the IGY Marina in Rodney Bay. The event was hugely successful last year and organizers say this year promises to be another spectacular display of Lucian culture and talent. Other activities throughout the month of December include a fish fiesta, Heineken Models and Bottles, Mas Action Jouvert Jump Up, Gran Max Concert and much more. 

D’Auvergne says the competition was also aimed at making participants take the lead in knowing about and fighting the disease. It was also a way to recruit young males into the fight. First place in the competition was a laptop computer – second place was a cellular phone – third place a MP3 player and fourth place an 8 GB jump drive. The theme for World AIDS Day 2009 was, “Universal access and human rights.”