St. Lucians warned to prepare for hurricanesCASTRIES, St. Lucia (CMC):
Disaster officials yesterday warned St. Lucians to take the necessary precautions to mitigate the loss of life and property during the upcoming hurricane season that experts warn could be very active.
United States forecaster Professor William Gray has predicted 17 named storms for the 2007 Atlantic hurricane season, nine of which are expected to become hurricanes.
The National Emergency Management Organisation said it was appealing to citizens to take the warnings seriously, and has expressed concern that residents may have become complacent, given the quiet hurricane season last year.
Belize to spend millions for kids,/br>BELMOPAN, Belize (CMC):
Belize will spend an estimated US$4.5 million over the next five years implementing programmes aimed at improving the lives of children, according to officials from the newly launched Inter-Ministerial Committee on Children's Rights (IMCCR).
The primary role of the IMCCR, approved by the Cabinet last year, is to give effect to the shared responsibility and accountability for effective planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the 2007-2011 Government of Belize/UNICEF Programme of Cooperation.
The projects include areas of cooperation focusing on addressing threats to basic human rights in areas such as education, health, HIV/AIDS, child protection, child development, poverty, violence, social policy and governance.
