Christian women who have pledged lifelong virginity as “brides of Christ” have expressed shock at a Vatican document that suggests literal virginity is not a prerequisite for their consecration. The Vatican’s new instruction on consecrated virginity, Ecclesiae Sponsae Imago, was published earlier this month after requests from bishops who reported an increasing number of women being called to the vocation.

There are an estimated 5,000 consecrated virgins in at least 42 countries, with the largest numbers in France, Italy and Argentina. Consecrated virgins are unmarried women who offer their physical virginity as a gift to Christ, and devote time to penance, works of mercy and prayer. Unlike nuns, they do not live in enclosed communities or wear special clothing. Most have jobs, and they provide for their own needs.(theguardian)…[+]

A British cave diver who was instrumental in the rescue of 12 children trapped in a northern Thailand cave says he is considering legal action after the inventor Elon Musk called him a “pedo” on Twitter.Vernon Unsworth told the Guardian on Monday he was “astonished and very angry” at the attack, for which Musk offered no evidence or basis. The billionaire initially doubled down on the comments made on social media, but has since deleted them.

Unsworth told journalists at the cave site, where a clean-up operation is under way, that the remarks about him were an attack on the entire rescue crew. “I believe he’s called me a paedophile,” he said. “I think people realise what sort of guy [Musk] is.” Asked if he would consider taking legal action against Musk, he told reporters: “Yes, it’s not finished.”Musk was responding to an interview Unsworth gave on Sunday in which he said a child-sized submarine the Tesla chief executive delivered to the cave site last week “had absolutely no chance of working”.(theguardian)…[+]

Johnson & Johnson has been ordered to pay nearly $4.7bn (£3.58bn) in damages to 22 women who claim the company’s talcum powder contributed to them developing ovarian cancer. Mark Lanier, the lead counsel for the women, six of whom have died from ovarian cancer, said Johnson & Johnson had covered up evidence of asbestos in its products for more than 40 years.

After a six-week trial at a court in St Louis, a jury awarded the women $4.14bn in punitive damages and $550m in compensatory damages. Medical experts testified during the trial that asbestos, a known carcinogen, is mixed in with mineral talc, which is the primary ingredient in Johnson & Johnson’s Baby Powder and Shower to Shower products. Lawyers said asbestos fibres and talc particles were found in the ovarian tissues of many of the women.

“We hope this verdict will get the attention of the J&J board and that it will lead them to better inform the medical community and the public about the connection between asbestos, talc and ovarian cancer,” Lanier said. “The company should pull talc from the market before causing further anguish, harm and death from a terrible disease.”

Johnson & Johnson has been sued by more than 9,000 women who claim its talcum powder contributed to their ovarian cancer. The company has consistently denied that its products can be linked to the disease. The company said it was deeply disappointed with the verdict, saying it was part of a “fundamentally unfair process” that grouped the women together and awarded them the same amount despite differences in their cases. It said it intended to appeal.(theguardian)…[+]

An Australian doctor, lauded for his part in rescuing 12 young Thai footballers and their coach from a flooded cave system, has described the moment divers realised they would have to “swim” the trapped boys out of the cave. Writing on Facebook as he prepared to return home on an Australian airforce transport plane, Richard Harris described the massive efforts by Thai and international cave divers to rescue the boys from deep within the Tham Luang cave system after they were first reached by the British divers John Volanthen and Rick Stanton.

Harris captured international attention after he entered the cave and then elected to stay with the trapped boys for three days. Harris paid tribute to the former Thai navy Seal Saman Kunan, who died during the rescue efforts delivering oxygen tanks into the cave system. Harris, who works for South Australia’s ambulance service and is known as Harry, had been identified for his expertise in cave rescues, with British divers requesting he join the team. “By the time we arrived on site, local divers … had already been doing the most extraordinary dives through the cave and laying the very robust rope which made all subsequent dives to the soccer team not only possible, but safe,” wrote Harris.(theguardian)…[+]

/abonnement/BRIDGETOWN – The Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) has announced that it will construct a new office building in Barbados, redeveloping the current site of its headquarters at Wildey, St. Michael.

The project, approved by the Bank’s Board of Directors in December 2017, will provide adequate accommodations for the CDB’s current and projected staff complement, and integrate environmental sustainability considerations. “With more than 200 employees and a building that is almost four decades old, it has become essential to construct new office accommodations that will effectively and efficiently support the Bank’s business and staff requirements,” said Phillip Brown, Director, Human Resources and Administration, CDB.

The new office building will efficiently use energy, water and other resources; focus on protecting staff health and improving employee productivity; and prioritise the reduction of waste, pollution and environmental degradation. Building on the existing photovoltaic installation already in operation on CDB’s campus, the new building will provide opportunities to further integrate this renewable energy feature. In addition, CDB will pursue a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification for the new building, which could be among the first in the Bank’s Borrowing Member Countries to achieve the globally recognised green-building rating.

Funding for the project, scheduled for completion in 2020, totals USD36 million (mn).

In 1970, CDB and the Government of Barbados signed an Agreement establishing Barbados as the Bank’s Headquarters Seat. Since then, CDB has provided more than USD480 mn in funding to support economic and social development in Barbados…[+]

Donald Trump has arrived in the UK for a four-day visit which will feature talks with Theresa May, tea with the Queen, and mass protests including a giant Trump baby blimp being flown over Westminster.

Trump’s plane touched down at Stansted airport, in Essex, from Brussels, where he had spent two days at the Nato summit. He is due to remain in the UK until Sunday evening, when he will head to Helsinki for a summit with Vladimir Putin. Air Force One landed at London Stansted airport at 1:51pm, with the media given no access to the president during the flight.

Trump descended from the plane holding the hand of his wife Melania, and was greeted by Liam Fox, the international trade secretary, before they boarded the helicopter Marine One for the short journey to London, most likely to the US ambassador’s residence, Winfield House. Trump will largely avoid the capital or other cities that could host significant protests. He will instead be kept mainly insulated from the public at various country estates or palaces.(theguardian)…[+]

This year marks the 50^th anniversary of the 1968 International Conference on Human Rights, where family planning was, for the first time, globally affirmed to be a human right. The conference’s outcome document, known as the Teheran Proclamation, stated unequivocally: “Parents have a basic human right to determine freely and responsibly the number and spacing of their children.” Embedded in this legislative language was a game-changing realization: Women and girls have the right to avoid the exhaustion, depletion and danger of too many pregnancies, too close together.  Men and women have the right to choose when and how often to embrace parenthood — if at all.  Every individual has the human right to determine the direction and scope of his or her future in this…[+]

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – As the Region prepares for possible impacts from the 2018 Atlantic Hurricane Season, the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) have embarked on a project to build resilience and psychosocial support across the Caribbean.

Over the period July 9 to 12, mental health professionals from across the Region will attend a Training-of-Trainers workshop at PAHO’s offices in Barbados. The objective is to establish a roster of persons who can be mobilised to affected countries in the event of a natural disaster, to provide mental health and psychosocial support. In addition, participants will be provided with the tools to conduct additional training in their home countries.

Speaking at the opening ceremony on July 9, Daniel Best, Director of Projects, CDB, said that while recovery and rehabilitation efforts have typically focused on infrastructure, there is a need to prepare populations to better cope with natural hazards by focusing on mental health and psychosocial well-being.

“As participants of this workshop you will be trained in tools to provide mental health and psychosocial support, including the provision of psychological first aid (PFA). PFA is specifically geared towards addressing the immediate and practical psychosocial needs of individuals, families, and communities in the aftermath of a disaster. You will play a critical part in current and upcoming recovery and rehabilitation processes. We cannot achieve social resilience and sustainable development without addressing mental health and psychosocial well-being”, said Best. Delivering the feature address at the opening of the workshop, Lt. Col. The Hon. Jeffrey Bostic, Minister of Health and Wellness for Barbados noted that given the Region’s vulnerability to natural disasters, the training provided during the workshop will enable the mobilisation of a regional response in the event of a disaster…[+]

The Department of Justice told a federal judge Tuesday that it may have mistakenly separated a father and toddler who could both be US citizens for as long as a year, in the process of enforcing the Trump administration zero-tolerance immigration policy.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) called the revelation “horrific” and blamed the administration’s poor execution of the practice of family separations. “The fact that a citizen got caught up in this mess shows just how poor the government’s record-keeping was, and this is just the latest example,” said Lee Gelernt, the deputy director of the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project. On 26 June, in a suit filed by the ACLU against the government over the separation of families at the southern border, federal judge Dana Sabraw granted a preliminary injunction requiring the reunification of children under the age of five by 10 July.

In a hearing on Tuesday, just before the deadline, the DoJ was asked to account for each failed reunification of the 102 younger children in its care. It noted 27 cases where it found reunification was not currently feasible, including one “because the parent’s location has been unknown for more than a year … and records show the parent and child might be US citizens.”(theguardian)…[+]

Port of Spain, Trinidad. The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) today ordered that a conviction and sentence of 5 years for causing dangerous harm imposed on Mr. Gilbert Henry be restored but noted that, as Mr. Henry had already served his time, he would not be imprisoned or face any other sanction. Mr. Henry’s previous conviction had been quashed by Belize’s Court of Appeal in a written judgment delivered on 16 June 2017, reversing an oral judgment it had given earlier in this case.

In 2008, Mr. Gilbert Henry was charged with attempted murder after he was accused of stabbing Mr. Ellis Taibo. His trial began almost 4 years later. After the trial judge’s summation, the jury deliberated for 2 hours and twenty-six minutes before asking for further directions. The jury then retired again and deliberated for a further 8 minutes before returning with a verdict of not guilty of attempted murder but guilty of causing dangerous harm.

Mr. Henry challenged his conviction and sentence before the Court of Appeal of Belize, arguing that substantial delays in the trial and appellate processes were in breach of his constitutional right to a fair trial within a reasonable time, among other issues. On 22 March 2017, the Court of Appeal delivered an oral judgment dismissing the appeal and affirming Mr. Henry’s conviction and sentence. The court later delivered a written judgment on 16 June 2017 which made no mention of the earlier oral judgment…[+]