Brooklyn: It’s time to celebrate our city’s most caring! Caribbean Life’s annual Caribbean American Healthcare Awards is set for June 27 in Brooklyn, at the Paradise Catering Hall in Gravesend. From now until mid-May, we will be considering nominations for our fifth annual awards. Comment

Trinidad and Tobago: Antigua Antigua and Barbuda Attorney General, Steadroy “Cutie” Benjamin said the government was moving to establish a registry for sex offenders in the very near future. Comment

Sports: West Indies fast bowler Shannon Gabriel has been banned slapped with a four-match One-Day International (ODI), by cricket’s governing body, the International Cricket Council (ICC), after being found guilty of player abuse. Comment

Suriname: PARAMARIBO, Feb. 15, 2019 (IPS) — High Forest Cover and Low Deforestation (HFLD) nations ended a major conference in Suriname on Thursday, with the Krutu of Paramaribo Joint Declaration on HFLD Climate Finance Mobilisation. Comment

Movies: The Changeover (Unrated) Adaptation of Margaret Mahy’s young adult novel, set in Christchurch, New Zealand, about a 16 year-old girl (Erana James) drawn into a battle with the evil spirit draining the life out of her little brother (Benji Purchase). Supporting cast includes Timothy Spall, Melanie Lynskey and Lucy Lawless. Comment

Brooklyn: It’s money pooling the modern way. A new app is going to make the traditional way of pooling money, commonly known as sou sou, easier. Haitian-American economist, Sophonie Saint Felix, is launching a digital version of the centuries-old rotating money loan method with Community Banking (COBA). Sou sou is a term referring to an informal money saving system, known as such in many Caribbean countries. In many parts of the world, this form of loaning and saving is the preferred choice over banking — as it helps people unable to borrow from banks, access a large amount of money. Comment

Brooklyn: The New York State Bar Association (NYSBA) says it is partnering with the City University School of Law (CUNY) School of Law in offering what it describes as a “groundbreaking” Technology and the Law class for second and third-year students at CUNY Law School. Comment

St Vincent: Sherill-Ann Mason-Haywood, chairperson of the Brooklyn-based St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) Diaspora Committee of New York, wants 2019 to be a “decisive year of collaboration” for Vincentians in the Diaspora. Comment

St Vincent: Despite numerous challenges within and without the legal profession, Queens-based, Vincentian-born attorney Narissa Morris is determined to press on. Comment

Movies: Every now and then, a film turns history on its head. For example, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter made over $100 million dollars at the box office by suggesting that the 16th President of the United States was also a legendary stalker of the undead. And Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds, which had Hitler dying in a movie theater fire rather than by committing suicide, made three times as much money. Comment

Viewpoints: Each year, Black History Month represents an important time to honor the many leaders who came before us and reflect on what steps we must take now to keep advancing the mission of pursuing racial justice. In New York City’s development and construction industry, where too many minority workers and business owners are still locked out of jobs and contracts, moving toward racial justice also means advancing economic justice for men and women of color. Comment

Music: The Aaron Diehl trio will be performing a concert at Baruch Performing Arts Center next month. Made up of jazz pianist Aaron Diehl, and his trio which includes drummer Aaron Kimmel and bassist David Wong, are going to perform “Virtuoso at Play,” — a two-hour show as part of the Milt Hinton Jazz Perspectives Series on March 28. Comment

Trinidad and Tobago: Gunmen in Trinidad killed four people in 14 hours overnight Tuesday, sparking fears that the country is again on course to experience yet another bad year for violent crime and concerns that gang wars are spiraling out of control. Comment

New York: Brooklyn Council Member Jumaane D. Williams on Wednesday introduced legislation that would prohibit employers from testing prospective employees for marijuana usage before employment. Comment

Grenada: A growth trend among most member countries of the Caribbean Community organisation, CARICOM, is projected to continue this year and strike an average two percent expansion of those economies. Comment

St Vincent: Moreen King-Anthony, a Vincentian-born community and political activist in Brooklyn, who unsuccessfully contested the 41st Council District in Brooklyn in 2017, died at a hospice in Brooklyn on Friday. She was 59. Comment

Environment: PARAMARIBO, Feb. 14 2019 (IPS) — At 51, Roberto Wong Loi Sing has spent nearly half of his life working in the field of engineering. But as he spends his days designing more efficient stormwater management systems, or water purification systems, for instance, the child in him comes alive as he combines his skills to find “win-win” solutions for the environment. Comment

Travel: The Barbados-based Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) says the Caribbean’s flair, pulsating energy and colorful sounds will captivate New York during Caribbean Week in early June. Comment

Haiti: Opposition-led protests in Haiti calling for the president to step down, which sparked violence last week, have prompted a group of senior diplomats, included the top United Nations official there, to deplore the loss of life and call for dialogue to end the crisis. Comment

Brooklyn: The Midwood Neighborhood Senior Center in Flatlands, Brooklyn on Monday held a grand re-opening ceremony in its brand-new location at the Congregation Beit Hillel of Flatlands, 2146 Ralph Ave. Comment

Brooklyn: A Brooklyn nurse recently launched a foundation in her late mother’s honor to raise awareness and support for young women pursuing social work. Comment

People: Caribbean justices Sylvia G. Ash and Ruth Shillingford were the keynote s Comment

Brooklyn: An aspiring clergyman is debuting a new film exploring the relationship between two notable and influential leaders at The New York Society for Ethical Culture on Feb. 23. Comment

Books: Oh, how you love opening presents! You love the surprise, first of all. What did you get? You won’t find out until you rip off the paper and just the sound of that is exciting. Maybe there’s a box next, or plastic to open, or there’s simply a gift for you to enjoy. Getting presents are awesome but in the new book “What is Given from the Heart” by Patricia C. McKissack, illustrated by April Harrison, is doubly special when you have nothing to give in return. Comment

Music: t’s a musical trinity. A collaborative show featuring three standout musicians will take center stage at the Merkin Hall at Kaufman Music Center on March 9. Comment

Sports: England avoided a whitewash when they beat West Indies in the final of the three-Test series by 322 runs in four days. Comment

Sports: Defending champions West Indies will open the defense of their title against New Zealand, in the highly anticipated edition of next year’s men’s Twenty20 World Cup in Australia. Comment

Sports: The Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) will bowl of this year’s edition from Aug. 21 to Sept. 27, with the opening round of matches taking place in Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana. Comment

Fashion: Glenroy Marsh is famously creative when it comes to classic, detailed, ensembles, so when his Sankofa by D’Marsh 2020 Fall Collection took over the runway at High School of Fashion Industries, NYC, last Monday, applause flowed from the audience. Comment

Jamaica: Permanent Representative of Jamaica to the United Nations, Ambassador Courtenay Rattay, on Feb. 6, told world religious leaders, humanitarians and guests at the United Nations Headquarters in New York city, that World Interfaith Harmony Week is more than a celebration, noting that it is a manifestation of the shared values of coexistence, fraternity and human understanding. Comment

People: According to UNESCO, ignorance or concealment of major historical events constitutes an obstacle to mutual understanding, reconciliation and cooperation among peoples. The celebration of Black History Month in the USA, is an opportune time to tell the story of the Black Caribs / Garifunas. Comments (2)

KUALA LUMPUR and BERLIN, Feb. 12, 2019 (IPS) — Economic recovery efforts since the 2008-2009 global financial crisis have mainly depended on unconventional monetary policies. As fears rise of yet another international financial crisis, there are growing concerns about the increased possibility of large-scale military conflict. Comment

New York: In his State of the Union address, President Trump pledged to end new HIV transmissions in the United States by 2030. He can start by looking at what is working right here, in his home state of New York. Comment

Arts & Theater: They painted for a cause! About a dozen women turned out for a local organization’s painting workshop in Queens last Friday. Comment

Barbados: The young Barbadian runner, Kyle Gale, who almost broke an Usain Bolt record, but for a technicality last year has now earned himself a four-year full athletics scholarship worth $37,000 annually with Kansas State University. Comment

Sports: West Indies Women clinched the three-match Twenty20 series (2-1) against Pakistan in the final T20 at the Southend Club Cricket Stadium a week ago. Comment

Barbados: Responding to a growing demographics imbalance in which the retired and close to retirement members of the population are growing while the number of working-age nationals is dwindling, Barbados will soon open its doors to skilled labour, especially persons from the Caribbean Community. Comments (1)

Brooklyn: The Brooklyn-based Pakistani American Youth Organization (PAYO) and Council Member Jumaane D. Williams on Friday held a ceremony to unveil Muhammad Ali Jinnah Way, a newly co-named street in Midwood, named for the founder of Modern Pakistan. Comment

New York: Dozens of city students traveled to Albany last week to speak to state lawmakers on the harmful effects tobacco-use has on their communities. On Feb. 4, organizers from anti-tobacco group NYC Smoke Free traveled with students to the capital on Legislative Education Day, to show their support for more comprehensive tobacco control programs. Comment

Africa: Who is the “father of Africa?” Sunday, Feb. 10 a commemorative statue of Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia was unveiled at the headquarters of the Organization of African Union (OAU) in the African capital city of Addis Ababa honoring the leader many consider worthy of the title. Comment

Movies: Joseph Grant (Toussaint Morrison) was riding in a car with his brother Cole (Malick Ceesay) and BFF Derek (Geoff Briley) one afternoon when they suddenly found themselves being tailed by a police cruiser. Although they hadn’t violated any rules of the road, they were inexplicably pulled over by a couple of overly zealous cops (Addison Pennington and Matt Cedarberg), ostensibly for merely “driving while black.” Comment