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  • Delegation from China Conducts Feasibility Study on the Development of Marine Spatial Planning in Antigua and Barbuda

    Delegation from China Conducts Feasibility Study on the Development of Marine Spatial Planning in Antigua and Barbuda

    A technical delegation from China has recently arrived in the twin-island Caribbean nation of Antigua and Barbuda to carry out on-the-ground feasibility research for the future development of a comprehensive national marine spatial planning framework. This initiative grows out of a broader bilateral cooperation agreement focused on ocean governance and sustainable blue economy development, signed by the two governments in recent years.

    During their in-country visit, the Chinese team of marine scientists, spatial planners and policy advisors conducted field surveys across key coastal and offshore areas of Antigua, as well as the smaller sister island of Barbuda. They held multiple rounds of productive working sessions with senior officials from Antigua and Barbuda’s Ministry of Fisheries, Ministry of Environment, and national planning agency, collecting baseline data on local ocean use, fisheries activities, coastal tourism development, marine conservation priorities, and existing infrastructure.

    Antigua and Barbuda, a small island developing state heavily dependent on marine resources for its national economy and livelihoods, has long faced growing challenges including overlapping ocean use conflicts, climate change-driven coastal erosion, and declining fish stocks. The government has identified establishing a science-based marine spatial planning system as a critical step to better manage its exclusive economic zone, protect critical marine ecosystems, unlock sustainable economic opportunities from the blue economy, and advance its national climate adaptation goals.

    Through this feasibility study, the Chinese delegation aims to assess the current state of ocean management capacity in Antigua and Barbuda, identify key gaps in data, policy and institutional frameworks, and lay the groundwork for a customized, context-appropriate marine spatial planning system that aligns with the country’s national development priorities. Both sides have emphasized that the cooperation is fully demand-driven, respects the national sovereignty and development priorities of Antigua and Barbuda, and aims to deliver tangible benefits for local communities dependent on marine resources.

    At the conclusion of the initial assessment phase, the Chinese delegation is expected to present a preliminary feasibility report to the government of Antigua and Barbuda, outlining potential next steps for technical cooperation, capacity building for local planning officials, and future implementation support. This project adds to a growing portfolio of South-South cooperation projects between China and Caribbean small island developing states focused on climate resilience and sustainable ocean development.

  • Oldest Centenarian in Dominica Dies at 108

    Oldest Centenarian in Dominica Dies at 108

    The Dominica Council on Ageing Inc. (DCOA) has confirmed the death of Asher Timothy, the Caribbean nation’s oldest recorded centenarian, who died at his latest residence at the Dominica Infirmary at 108 years old. Hailing from the northern town of Marigot, Timothy leaves behind a lasting legacy that extends far beyond his extraordinary milestone of longevity.

    Shortly before his passing, Timothy had been moved to the Dominica Infirmary for ongoing care. In an official statement released this week, the DCOA lauded Timothy as a powerful emblem of resilience, whose decades-long life stood as a testament to the quiet strength that defines Dominica’s elderly community. Officials noted that his journey through more than a century of change, from colonial era shifts to modern island development, mirrored the perseverance of the older generations who shaped the country’s social and cultural fabric.

    News of Timothy’s death has resonated deeply across the island, with particularly profound grief felt throughout the close-knit Marigot community where he lived for most of his life. Residents and local leaders alike have shared recollections of his quiet wisdom and steady presence, which made him a beloved figure across generations of local families.

    The DCOA has formally extended its deepest condolences to Timothy’s immediate family, friends, and all who knew him over his long life. Beyond mourning his passing, the organization is using Timothy’s legacy to prompt national reflection on the invaluable contributions that senior citizens make to Dominican life. Officials emphasized that he is remembered not just for his unusual lifespan, but for the example of endurance, quiet commitment, and community connection he modeled for all Dominicans.

  • Half of Haiti’s Gangs Made Up of Children

    Half of Haiti’s Gangs Made Up of Children

    As a multinational security force approved by the United Nations begins deploying to Haiti to crack down on rampant gang violence, a devastating new statistic has emerged that lays bare the scale of the country’s humanitarian and security crisis: children now account for roughly 50 percent of all members of armed gangs across the nation.

    Data compiled by monitoring groups shows that at least 302 minors were recruited by gangs in 2024 alone, and the vast majority of these underage recruits are thrust directly into frontline combat roles. The newly arriving UN-authorized Gang Suppression Force (GSF) is set to eventually field up to 5,500 personnel, with a core mandate to support overstretched Haitian national police in retaking territory controlled by armed groups.

    UNICEF’s latest assessment reveals that gang recruitment of children skyrocketed by 200 percent in 2025, a surge driven by three overlapping root causes: widespread systemic poverty, mass youth homelessness, and coordinated social media campaigns that deliberately glorify gang culture to lure vulnerable young people. Many children are enticed into joining with basic promises of regular meals, safe shelter, and steady cash payments. Others face forced conscription at the hands of gang recruiters, and some are even handed over to gangs by families pushed to desperation by extreme economic hardship. UN field research found that payments to families or child recruits themselves range from $100 to $700, depending on the dangerousness of the role the child is expected to fill.

    International humanitarian organizations have issued urgent warnings that the expansion of security operations against gangs will likely lead to underage recruits being deliberately pushed to the frontlines by gang leaders, putting thousands of children at immediate risk of death or serious injury. Human rights experts have also raised grave alarms about the treatment of detained children with alleged gang ties, documenting that dozens of minors accused of gang affiliation have been extrajudicially killed since 2022.

    In response to the crisis, UNICEF is calling on Haitian authorities and deploying GSF personnel to adhere to a UN-endorsed handover protocol that requires any captured or surrendered underage recruits to be transferred to child welfare agencies, rather than being detained or punished like adult criminal combatants. The agency notes that its existing community-based reintegration program has already supported more than 500 former child gang recruits to transition back to peaceful civilian life, offering a proven model for addressing the crisis if supported by international and local stakeholders.

  • Rotary Club of Dominica facilitates 31st VOSH Mission May 11 – May 14

    Rotary Club of Dominica facilitates 31st VOSH Mission May 11 – May 14

    For more than three decades, a life-changing volunteer eye care initiative has brought critical vision services to communities across Dominica, and the tradition is set to continue next spring. The Rotary Club of Dominica has officially confirmed that it will welcome the Volunteer Optometric Services to Humanity (VOSH) international team back to the island for the program’s 31st consecutive mission, scheduled to run from May 11 through May 14, 2026.

    According to an official press statement issued by the club, the four-day mission will deploy mobile eye care clinics across multiple geographically dispersed locations across the island. This intentional distribution of service sites is designed to cut down on travel barriers and expand access to high-quality, no-cost optometric care for residents from every corner of Dominica.

    The mission’s itinerary kicks off on the opening day, Monday May 11, at Portsmouth Hospital, before the team relocates to the St. Joseph Health Centre for the second day of services on Tuesday May 12. On the third day, Wednesday May 13, the clinic will set up at the Goodwill Parish Hall, where it will prioritize care for residents living between the communities of Grand Bay and Pointe Michel. The team will remain at the Goodwill Parish Hall for the final day of operations on Thursday May 14, shifting focus to serve individuals from communities spanning Mahaut to Newtown.

    Organizers have outlined a key pre-requisite for any member of the public seeking care during the mission: all prospective patients must complete a mandatory pre-screening process at their local, nearest health centre before attending the VOSH clinics. Only people who have finished pre-screening and received a assigned queue number will be accepted for examination and care at the pop-up clinics.

    The press release explains that this pre-screening system was implemented to streamline operations, keep patient flow organized, and maximize the total number of residents that can be served over the four-day event. To avoid last-minute rushes and ensure eligible residents do not miss out on this rare access to specialized care, the Rotary Club of Dominica is urging all people interested in accessing services to complete their required pre-screening well in advance of the mission’s start date.

  • Sports Minister Hails CARIFTA Medalists as Team Returns Home

    Sports Minister Hails CARIFTA Medalists as Team Returns Home

    ST JOHN’S, Antigua – Fresh off the conclusion of the 53rd edition of the CARIFTA Games, one of the Caribbean’s most prestigious youth athletics competitions, Antigua and Barbuda’s national delegation has returned home to a warm welcome and widespread praise for their strong showings in Jamaica. Daryll S. Matthew, the country’s Minister of Sports, has lauded the team’s young competitors, pointing to an impressive haul of medals and a string of personal best performances delivered across every discipline.

    In an official address marking the team’s return, Matthew singled out sprinter Tyra Fenton for special recognition, after Fenton dominated the under-age sprints to claim two gold medals in the women’s 100-meter and 200-meter events. She added a bronze medal in the 400-meter contest to round out a breakout competition that cements her status as one of the Caribbean’s most promising young track talents.

    The national team also notched strong results in the field events, with Zonique Charles securing a silver medal in the women’s javelin throw, and Maliek Francis bringing home a bronze medal in the men’s division of the same event.

    Beyond the podium finishes, Matthew emphasized that the team’s success extended far beyond just medal hauls. A large group of competitors recorded new personal best marks over the course of the multi-day competition, a testament to the steady improvement of Antigua and Barbuda’s youth athletics programs. Among the athletes who hit new personal milestones were Ryan Aikin, Shaquan Garding, Jaeda Pigott, Shawn-Ze Joseph, Elite Thomas, Fenton, and Geron Henry.

    Matthew went on to extend his sincere gratitude to every member of the delegation, from the competing athletes to the full coaching and support staff, for their hard work in representing Antigua and Barbuda on the respected regional sports stage. He framed the entire 2024 CARIFTA Games campaign as an unqualified success for the nation, noting that both top-three podium finishes and the measurable performance gains across the wider team are clear indicators that the country’s youth athletics development is moving in the right direction.

  • Fish Festival a resounding success, says organisers

    Fish Festival a resounding success, says organisers

    The 2026 iteration of the beloved Oistins Fish Festival has wrapped up, and event organizers are celebrating it as a marked success, citing tangible improvements across multiple areas of operation compared to previous years. In a closing statement following the conclusion of the multi-day festivities, Israel Mallett, co-chair of the festival organizing committee, shared his positive assessment of this year’s event, highlighting upgrades to both pre-event preparation and on-the-ground execution. Among the most notable advances was a streamlined onboarding and setup process for participating vendors, which ran far more efficiently than in prior editions. Most importantly, the entire festival unfolded with almost no major disruptions or safety incidents, a key milestone for the community-focused gathering.

    Mallett noted that only one minor issue arose over the course of the event: a small vehicle collision that resulted in no injuries to attendees or staff, an outcome the committee counts as a win for event safety. That said, organizers did not dismiss constructive feedback from the public, which included observations that the festival’s atmosphere felt slower or less energetic than in past years at certain points. Rather than dismissing these critiques, Mallett connected the subdued energy to broader economic headwinds currently impacting the country, framing the public input as a valuable asset for future planning. He emphasized that the organizing committee actively welcomes all forms of feedback, as it gives the team clear areas to refine and improve for coming editions of the event.

    “We love criticism. We like to hear from people what their thoughts are, what their feedback is, because those are things that we look to internalise and implement and work on for the years to come,” Mallett explained.

    The co-chair also addressed growing concerns from participating vendors, who have reported declining sales and shrinking profit margins at the festival in recent years. While Mallett confirmed that the organizing committee takes full responsibility for core marketing and promotion of the event to drive attendance, he stressed that driving visitor engagement and sales is a shared responsibility among all stakeholders: event organizers, local fisherfolk, and vendors themselves. He added that the team adopted a new proactive approach to resolving vendor issues in real time this year, pointing to one example where organizers leveraged social media to amplify a struggling vendor’s visibility and attract more foot traffic during a slow period.

    “One of the things we try to do is to work with the vendors. If there’s an issue that we can resolve on the spot, we try to resolve that issue on the spot and if it’s something we can’t resolve on the spot, we take it into our post-mortem and planning,” Mallett said.

    Looking back on his tenure leading the festival’s organizing team, Mallett reflected that his time in the role has been a period of extraordinary personal and professional growth. When he first took on the leadership position, he brought little prior experience planning large-scale community events, but he noted that his outsider perspective and fresh approach have ultimately been an asset to the long-running festival. “It’s been a real experience of growth coming into it,” he said. “I have met a lot of great people through the vendors, the community, the fisher folk… it has been a really expanding experience for me.”

  • ABNOC congratulates Tyra Fenton and the entire team for 6th place finish on the medal table

    ABNOC congratulates Tyra Fenton and the entire team for 6th place finish on the medal table

    Over the 2026 Easter weekend, the CARIFTA Track and Field Championships delivered a historic moment for Antigua and Barbuda’s young track and field athletes, who turned in a standout performance that earned widespread celebration from the nation’s National Olympic Committee (ABNOC).

    Leading the charge was sprinter Tyra Fenton, who delivered an unforgettable performance by claiming two gold medals in the Women’s 100m and 200m events, plus a bronze medal in the Women’s 400m. Fenton’s multi-medal success was not the only bright spot for the delegation: Maliek Francis secured a bronze medal in the men’s javelin competition, while Zonique Charles added another bronze to the team’s tally in the women’s javelin. By the end of the championships, Antigua and Barbuda’s entire team had secured an impressive 6th place on the overall medal table, a result ABNOC has highlighted as a marked achievement for the small island nation.

    Cliff Williams, Secretary General of ABNOC, emphasized that this year’s CARIFTA medalists represent the country’s most promising contingent for future success at regional, continental and global competitions. To nurture this emerging talent and help the athletes transition smoothly into professional sports careers, ABNOC has announced a comprehensive targeted support program tailored to the athletes’ holistic development.

    The three-pillar support framework covers on and off-field needs: first, dedicated mentorship and sport-specific coaching that extends beyond training sessions to address off-track challenges; second, academic and life-skills support designed to foster balanced development, ensuring athletes are prepared both for elite competition and long-term life beyond sports; third, customized structured preparation for major multi-sport events, ranging from regional championships and Continental Games to World Championships, the Commonwealth Games, and ultimately the Olympic Games, including specialized training to build competitive mindset and event readiness.

    To further strengthen this athlete development pathway, ABNOC has made a formal pledge to bring in an international sports methodologist to collaborate directly with the country’s local coaching and development teams. This expert will support the design of long-term athlete development roadmaps, share global best practices in elite sports training, and help prepare the emerging medalists to advance to the next stages of their competitive careers.

    ABNOC notes that this commitment to nurturing high-performing young athletes is not limited to CARIFTA track and field competitors. It extends to high achievers from CARIFTA Swimming and other top emerging athletes across every sport practiced in the nation. “We are incredibly proud of everything these athletes have already accomplished,” the organization affirmed, “and we remain fully dedicated to providing the resources and tailored guidance they need to compete and excel on the world stage.”

  • Young Father Dies in Violent Car Crash

    Young Father Dies in Violent Car Crash

    A devastating late-night traffic collision in San Ignacio’s Kontiki neighborhood has claimed the life of José “Poste” Bautista (Riveira), a well-loved young member of the local football community, leaving his infant daughter, young spouse, and tight-knit neighborhood grappling with sudden loss. The fatal crash unfolded on Monday night, and Bautista was pronounced dead at the accident site immediately following the impact.

    In the wake of the tragedy, his heartbroken wife shared a raw, emotional tribute to her husband via social media, writing, “You left me alone with the baby… I have no words.” The message quickly resonated across local online circles, as hundreds of friends, acquaintances, and community members poured in with their own condolences and memories of Bautista. Many recalled him as a gentle, humble person who doted endlessly on his young daughter, highlighting the bright future cut short by the crash.

    One close childhood friend shared their own reflection online, noting, “We grew up sharing moments, laughter, and memories that I will always carry in my heart.”

    User-shared footage from the crash site offers a grim look at the aftermath: a grey Toyota Camry, heavily damaged with its entire front end crumpled beyond recognition, sits on the roadway. The video also confirms that road surfaces were wet at the time of the incident, leading many local residents to speculate that inclement weather was a contributing factor to the collision.

    Beyond weather, some community members are already calling for infrastructure improvements at the crash location, pointing to longstanding safety risks. One local resident argued that the stretch of road “needs bumps with proper signs and well-highlighted paint on these bumps,” suggesting inadequate road markings and traffic calming measures may have played a role in the tragedy.

    Local law enforcement has confirmed that it is conducting a full investigation into the crash, and plans to release an official update on the incident’s circumstances to media outlets on April 8, 2026.

  • Trump Says “A Whole Civilization Will Die Tonight”

    Trump Says “A Whole Civilization Will Die Tonight”

    On April 7, 2026, a sharp escalation of tensions between the United States and Iran sent shockwaves across global geopolitics and energy markets, after sitting U.S. President Donald Trump issued an unprecedented, catastrophic threat to wipe out Iran’s entire civilization if Tehran did not reopen the blocked Strait of Hormuz by 8 p.m. Eastern Standard Time that same day.

    In a public post shared to his social media platform Truth Social on Tuesday, Trump issued a dire warning: “A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will.” This chilling statement followed escalating rhetoric Trump delivered a day earlier at a White House press briefing, where he told reporters that Iran could be completely “taken out in one night.” He doubled down on existing threats that he would order strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure and key river crossings if the strategic waterway remained closed to international traffic.

    Trump also claimed credit for a previous strike that took out one of Iran’s tallest bridges, a critical transit link that connected two major Iranian cities, an attack carried out last Thursday, though independent confirmation of the strike’s attribution has not yet been released.

    Iran’s response came swiftly from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy, which declared Monday that the Strait of Hormuz will never return to its pre-crisis status of unrestricted access for U.S. vessels and Washington’s allied military and commercial shipping.

    The 21-mile-wide waterway is one of the world’s most critical chokepoints for global energy trade, with approximately 20% of all globally traded crude oil passing through its waters every day. The ongoing closure has already triggered immediate volatility in global energy markets, pushing fuel prices sharply upward in every region. Even in Belize, a small Central American nation thousands of miles from the Persian Gulf, consumers saw their third fuel price hike of the month on Easter Sunday, a tangible sign of the conflict’s global ripple effects.

    In recent weeks, a number of Asian nations have moved to negotiate separate arrangements to secure safe passage for their commercial vessels through the strait. Pakistan, India, and the Philippines have all finalized bilateral agreements with Iran to allow their ships to transit the waterway, while China has publicly confirmed that its commercial vessels continue to use the channel amid the standoff.

    As of Tuesday morning local time, no diplomatic agreement had been reached between the U.S. and Iran to de-escalate the crisis, and there was no path toward an immediate ceasefire or de-escalation in sight.

  • Dominica’s oldest centenarian, Asher Timothy, passes away at 108

    Dominica’s oldest centenarian, Asher Timothy, passes away at 108

    The Dominica Council on Ageing Inc. (DCOA Inc.) has confirmed the death of Asher Timothy, a resident of Marigot who was widely recognized as the oldest living centenarian in the Caribbean nation of Dominica, at the age of 108.

    In an official public statement, DCOA shared that Timothy had recently been moved to the Dominica Infirmary ahead of his passing. For years, Timothy stood as far more than just a record-holder for longevity across the country; he was embraced as a cultural icon of resilience, whose century-long life embodied the steady strength and perseverance that define generations of Dominican people.

    According to the statement, Timothy maintained deep, lasting ties to the cultural heritage of Dominica’s senior community throughout his decades, leaving behind a legacy that extends far beyond his impressive lifespan.

    The DCOA expressed sincere sorrow over the loss of Timothy, while noting that the organization, alongside residents of Marigot and Dominicans across the country, is not only mourning his passing but also pausing to celebrate the extraordinary, impactful life he built.

    Local media outlet Dominica News Online has also extended its formal condolences to Timothy’s family, close loved ones, and the countless community members whose lives were shaped by his quiet, enduring presence over more than a century.