Belasse says most of the injured were taken to the hospital in a police vehicle. When HTS arrived on the scene, one of the injured visitors was getting treated by Emergency Medical Technicians.

On the sidelines, friends of the injured could be seen sobbing as they continued to react to the incident.
Belasse believes what happened could possibly have an impact on St. Lucia’s image.

HTS news attempted to get a comment from officials of the Castries City Council but was not successful – we were referred to the Town Clerk who was not present. The incident occurred around midday.

The programme will feature addresses by the permanent secretary for labour, the minister for labour and acting prime minister, Hon Philip J. Pierre.

It will end with a presentation of the labour act to the trade union federation, national workers' union and the Saint Lucia employers' federation.

On Monday July 30th a post mortem examination was performed on the body of 20 year old Hannah Defoe, the British national who died here last week while on vacation.

She is the cousin of UK footballer Jermaine Defoe who plays for Tottenham Hotspur. The results of the examination indicate that Defoe died as a result of drowning secondary to electrocution.

The body of Hannah Defoe was discovered by her aunt in a swimming pool of a hotel in the Beanfield, Vieux Fort. Police say investigations into the matter are ongoing.

Monrose is currently on island attending a conference of the Seventh Day Church of God. While here – he has taken the opportunity to express his Association’s interest in addressing crime and gun violence issues on island.

Monrose has been working very closely with families – particularly mothers – who have lost sons to gun violence in the area where he operates.

He says the 67th precinct has the single largest concentration of Saint Lucians in America and is also the place where a number of Saint Lucian youths lose their life to gun violence.

As a result – he believes his association is uniquely placed to offer advice on ways Saint Lucia can address these problems.

Gun violence accounts for the majority of homicides committed in Saint Lucia. The latest victim was 27 year old Leevy Wilson of Patience who died after he was shot during the second day of the Parade of the Bands on Tuesday 17th July.

26 year old Garvin Andrew of Barnard Hill was remanded to the Bordelais Correctional Facility on July 24th - charged with that murder and the attempted murder of 20 year old Yannick Sylvester who was also shot during the same altercation.

A special committee for the development of Saltibus held its first meeting on Saturday. Several areas of concern were examined with others expected to be discussed at subsequent sessions.
The committee intends to focus on strategic areas of interest as its looks to develop Saltibus.

The management of LIME and the national workers union have satisfactorily concluded months of industrial negotiations.

As a result - over two hundred technical, clerical, middle management and sales staff will now benefit from a new industrial agreement.

This is the first industrial agreement between lime and the NWU and it makes provision for upward adjustments in salaries,

allowances, and other working conditions. A press release from the union says the four year agreement is intended to bring stability to the company while creating a new dimension of industrial engagement between the parties.

LIME and the NWU are expected to meet shortly at the department of labour to officially sign the agreement.

With Value Added Tax set to be implemented in October of this year, major preparations continue to ensure all stakeholders are ready.

To that end - a small business training session was launched on Monday. The two day session is hosted by SEDU and facilitated by accountant- Daria Poyotte.

Poyotte says with the set date for vat only two months away, we cannot afford to procrastinate.

Poyotte says Monday’s session dealt with the theoretical part of vat, while Tuesday’s session will focus on accounting.

Participant from yard and associates accounting firm- Lindel Philogene spoke highly of the workshop which she says has thus far been very informative. Philogene says more businesses should take advantage of the beneficial sessions.

The activity continues on Tuesday and is being held at the ICT center in Castries. Similar workshops are also being held across the island including Gros-Islet, Vieux-Fort and Soufriere.

Agriculture minister Moses Jn Baptiste continued his familiarization tour of all areas within the agricultural sector on Friday with a stop at a local poultry farm. The minister toured the Hyline poultry farms located at Morne Du Don in Castries.

Emancipation Day will be observed on Wednesday August 1st with a number of activities. The Cultural Development Foundation has teamed up with a number of partners including the FRC and Iyanola Council to ensure a more holistic observance.

Executive Director- Kennedy ‘Boots’ Samuels says the CDF has also partnered with three communities in an effort at decentralizing Emancipation Day celebrations.

Samuels says on Emancipation Day, a Freedom Concert will also be held at Independence Square in Vieux Fort from 6PM.

On that same day - Laborie will also host a concert featuring a variety of performances.

The third community of Choiseul will on Tuesday evening host a panel discussion featuring historians such as Huggins Neil Nicholas, Tania Elias and Russel Jean.

That activity will be held at the Piaye Primary School from 6:30PM and will be followed by a concert on Wednesday at the Old Boys School in Reunion Choiseul.

Samuel says the activities continue into Thursday with two forums at the National Cultural Center in Castries.

The Cultural Development Foundation will also host the annual Sounds of Freedom Concert on Wednesday from 2:30PM at the National Cultural Centre.

It will feature messages, spontaneous tributes and performances by leading poets, dancers and musicians including Harmonites Steel Orchestra, Secret Band and the reggae band 4th World.