Students and volunteer paint mural at SPRCS

They were targets of burglary last week but that did not stop school children from bringing some peace to the San Pedro Roman Catholic School (SPRCS). Along with a volunteer, the students were armed with brushes and paint cans and were ready to work.

Liza Mills, a US citizen visiting the island, along with a handful of SPRCS students are in the process of giving the school fence a facelift in the form of a mural. The project started this week on Monday and should be completed by end of the week. Students were more than happy to utilize some of their vacation time to assist in painting what will become an underwater seascape.

Ex-Prime Minister Rt. Hon. Manuel Esquivel Knighted

Former Belize Prime Minister, Manuel Esquivel, is among Commonwealth Caribbean nationals honoured in the New Year Honours List by Britain's Queen Elizabeth. Mr Esquivel, who served two terms as prime minister in the 80s and 90s, receives the award for "his services to politics and to good governance".

Those also receiving knighthoods include retired senior Barbadian public officer, Harcourt Lewis, banker Edmund Lawrence of St Kitts and Nevis and Dunstan St Omer, a prominent artist in St Lucia.

Veteran Barbadian gospel singer Joseph Niles gets a CBE (Commander of the British Empire).

Jason Roberts, a striker for Blackburn Rovers in England’s Premier League, is awarded an MBE for his charity work in Grenada.