Carib Scope

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  • Ebola-uitbraak in Congo overschrijdt 4.000 gevallen

    Ebola-uitbraak in Congo overschrijdt 4.000 gevallen

    The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is facing one of the most severe Ebola outbreaks in recorded global history, with new official government data confirming confirmed cases have crossed the 4,000 threshold. Fueled by the rare, fast-spreading Bundibugyo strain of the virus, this epidemic is currently the second-largest Ebola outbreak the world has ever seen, and public health officials report it shows no signs of slowing down more than two and a half months after it was first detected.

    According to the latest update from the DRC Ministry of Public Health, a total of 4,053 cases have been recorded across the country since mid-May 2024, including 1,850 confirmed deaths from the virus. The outbreak has spread beyond initial containment zones, reaching 53 separate health districts across five of the DRC’s provinces. Ituri province remains the epicenter of the crisis, accounting for 87% of all confirmed cases, followed by North Kivu province, which has recorded 11% of total infections. Local authorities in North Kivu, including the city of Beni, have already begun rolling out public awareness campaigns to encourage residents to adopt preventive measures, with community groups like motorcycle taxi drivers participating in outreach efforts to spread critical information.

    Epidemiologists describe this current outbreak as the fastest-spreading Ebola event on record, and many experts warn that the true number of infections is almost certainly higher than official counts reflect, due to limited access to affected areas and delays in case tracking. Only the 2014–2016 West African Ebola outbreak was larger, with more than 28,000 confirmed cases recorded over two years.

    Efforts to curb the spread of the virus have faced significant obstacles. Ongoing military conflict in affected regions has disrupted access for medical teams, delays in contact tracing have allowed chains of transmission to continue unbroken, and the country currently faces critical shortages of targeted treatments and vaccines specifically developed for the Bundibugyo strain. Ebola spreads through direct contact with infected bodily fluids, making rapid intervention and contact tracing critical to stopping transmission.

    In a major policy update released Friday, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced it is recommending large-scale human clinical trials of Ervebo, the only currently approved Ebola vaccine, which has already demonstrated strong effectiveness against the more common Zaire strain of the virus. Early preclinical research, including data from animal studies, suggests Ervebo may also offer protective benefits against the Bundibugyo strain driving the current DRC outbreak.

    In one key study, three out of four vaccinated non-human primates survived exposure to the Bundibugyo strain, compared to just one out of four unvaccinated primates in the control group. Unpublished data from ferret studies has even shown 100% protection against Bundibugyo after vaccination with Ervebo. The WHO has emphasized that Ervebo should receive top priority for randomized controlled trials in the DRC, while noting that the vaccine may have reduced effectiveness at preventing mild symptoms and onward transmission, but appears capable of protecting against fatal outcomes.

    Parallel to these trials, the United Nations Technical Advisory Group is working to develop new vaccines specifically targeted to the Bundibugyo strain. Two candidate vaccines have already entered early-phase clinical trials, and a third candidate is currently in development.

    Gavi, the global vaccine alliance, maintains a stockpile of 500,000 doses of Ervebo, and a portion of these doses have already arrived in the DRC to support the upcoming clinical trials. Gavi Director Sania Nishtar emphasized that the current outbreak is the largest Ebola event in the DRC’s history, and noted that accelerating vaccine access is critical to reducing severe illness and death among affected communities and frontline healthcare workers responding to the crisis.

    Just weeks ago, a fire at an Ebola treatment center in Rwampara further complicated response efforts, destroying critical infrastructure and requiring full decontamination of the facility before services could be restored, highlighting the ongoing challenges responders face as they work to bring the outbreak under control.

  • 9 augustus: Viering zonder recht is een lege ceremonie

    9 augustus: Viering zonder recht is een lege ceremonie

    As the world prepares to mark the International Day of Indigenous Peoples on August 9, Suriname is gearing up for its own commemorations, featuring speeches, vibrant cultural performances, and public statements honoring the nation’s first inhabitants. While these gestures of appreciation are well-intentioned, opinion leaders Uriel Sabajo and Tadzio Sarijoen argue that gratitude without justice is empty, and celebration without substantive recognition is little more than a symbolic ritual that masks harsh, unaddressed realities. For Suriname, they insist, August 9 must first and foremost be a day of national reflection on the unfinished struggle for Indigenous territorial and collective rights.

    Beneath the colorful pageantry of annual celebrations lies an uncomfortable truth that Suriname has yet to fully confront: the entire nation is built on the traditional territory of its original Indigenous peoples, yet after centuries of nation-building, their collective rights remain unrecognized in full by the Surinamese state. This is not merely a minor political oversight, the authors emphasize; it is a fundamental flaw in the country’s commitment to the rule of law and basic moral principle.

    The modern history of Suriname did not begin with European colonization, the writers remind readers. Indigenous communities inhabited, governed, and stewarded the land thousands of years before the arrival of European settlers. Their inherent rights to territory and self-determination are not granted by the Surinamese government, nor do they depend on parliamentary approval. Instead, these rights flow directly from their centuries-long original presence on the land: they are pre-existing rights, older than the Surinamese state itself, that the state is obligated to recognize rather than create. To deny this historical reality, the authors argue, is to deny the very origins of the Surinamese nation.

    This understanding of Indigenous rights is not a new claim in Suriname. As early as 1686, a peace accord signed between Indigenous communities and colonial authorities implicitly acknowledged that Indigenous peoples were sovereign, self-governing nations with their own legitimate claim to territory. Peace is never negotiated with subjects, the authors note; it is only signed between parties that recognize one another as distinct political actors.

    In 1976, 50 years ahead of this year’s commemoration, Indigenous leaders and their supporters made history with a protest march from Albina to Paramaribo. Their demands were not for special privileges, but for the Surinamese state to finally deliver justice to the people who first called the land home. Half a century later, the core demands remain unchanged: formal legal recognition of traditional residential and cultural territories, protection of Indigenous cultural heritage, guaranteed self-determination, and meaningful participation in all policy decisions that shape the future of Indigenous communities.

    Recent decades of Surinamese history bear continued witness to this ongoing struggle. The Tucajana Amazones movement successfully pushed Indigenous emancipation back to the top of the national political agenda. Leaders like Thomas Sabajo have repeatedly emphasized that recognition is not a charitable favor granted by the state, but an inherent right that existed long before Suriname achieved independence. This legacy of activism is commemorated every August 8, marking the 1992 peace accord that ended the Surinamese Interior War.

    Beyond Suriname’s borders, the global framework for Indigenous rights has evolved substantially. In 2007, the United Nations adopted the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), through which the entire international community formally affirmed that Indigenous peoples hold inherent rights to self-determination, protection of their traditional territories, and the right to give free, prior, and informed consent before any major development or policy changes are implemented on their land. This global standard has also been reinforced by legal action.

    The landmark Kaliña and Lokono ruling from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights legally binds Suriname to formally recognize and protect the collective rights of these Indigenous peoples. The ruling once again confirmed that these demands are not arbitrary political requests or charitable concessions, but enforceable human rights under international law. Despite this clear legal mandate, full implementation of the ruling has yet to be delivered.

    From both historical and legal perspective, the authors conclude, Indigenous peoples are the original inhabitants of Suriname, and their pre-existing rights make them the legitimate original owners of the land. This recognition does not undermine the rights of other Surinamese citizens, they stress; on the contrary, it creates a stronger foundation for a pluralistic Surinamese society built on historical truth, equal dignity, and equal legal certainty for all communities.

    A mature, democratic rule of law does not need to fear its own history, the authors argue. It has the courage to confront its foundational origins, and to repair historical injustice that has persisted for centuries — even long after Suriname declared independence in 1975.

    Against this backdrop, August 9 demands far more from Suriname than traditional dance performances, symbolic speeches, or even half-hearted state policies that fail to deliver effective protection for Indigenous communities. It requires political courage: the courage to acknowledge that the current 5-kilometer radius protection framework for Indigenous residential and living areas laid out in existing law is completely inadequate and unacceptable. It demands the courage to align Suriname’s constitution with international human rights standards, the courage to finally and unambiguously recognize the pre-existing rights of original inhabitants and enshrine those rights in the national constitution, the courage to fully implement international legal rulings, and above all, the courage to accept that a nation’s dignity begins with recognizing the people who first called it home.

    Only when these steps are taken will August 9 truly be a meaningful national day of celebration for all Surinamese. Until that day arrives, it must remain first and foremost a call to national reflection and action.

  • Onderzoek naar verdwenen kwik nog altijd zonder resultaat

    Onderzoek naar verdwenen kwik nog altijd zonder resultaat

    Nearly half a year after more than 500 kilograms of mercury went missing from the Geyersvlijt police station in Suriname, the official investigation into the high-stakes disappearance has yet to yield any concrete results, Suriname’s Minister of Justice and Security Harish Monorath has confirmed to the country’s National Assembly.

    Addressing lawmakers on Tuesday, Monorath stated that the probe remains ongoing, with investigators currently working to analyze new sets of data from alternative channels, a process that is expected to take additional time. He added that he has received consistent updates on the case from the police corps commissioner, but this response failed to satisfy members of parliament, who are demanding full transparency around what happened to the toxic, controlled material.

    Mahinder Jogi, a legislator from the ruling VHP party, pushed back hard on the minister’s update, noting that the case has been open for several months with no clear answers to fundamental questions: how the mercury was able to disappear from a guarded police facility, where the material is currently located, and which individual or group is responsible for the loss. Jogi questioned whether senior officials are intentionally withholding information from the legislature, arguing that the government cannot continue to deliver the same vague update to parliament indefinitely.

    Rabin Parmessar, leader of the opposition NDP faction, echoed these concerns, raising a series of unanswered questions about the conduct of the investigation. Parmessar asked what investigators have learned from the police station’s security camera footage, which officers were on duty during the window when the mercury went missing, whether any cameras were deliberately disabled, and whether all required protocols for the storage and security of seized hazardous material were properly followed.

    Parmessar emphasized that it is critical to avoid creating a public perception of lack of transparency, particularly when the incident involves the national police force. “Members of the public have to be able to trust that materials held in police custody are kept secure,” he said, “We need to be open and honest about what has gone wrong here.”

    Defending the slow pace of the probe, Monorath reminded lawmakers that complex criminal investigations often require extended timelines, pointing to a prior high-profile case at the same Geyersvlijt station where 90 kilograms of cocaine disappeared from a police safe. In that case, it took more than a year before a suspect was identified, the minister noted.

    Monorath also clarified the division of responsibilities in the case, stating that management of all seized goods falls under the authority of the police corps commissioner, while the criminal investigation is led by the Public Prosecution Service. The minister added that any breaches of integrity within the Suriname Police Corps will not be tolerated, and any officers found to have violated rules will face both criminal and disciplinary action. He also noted that decisions to release individuals detained as part of the investigation are not made by his office, but rest with the Public Prosecution Service, the investigating judge or the broader judiciary.

  • Elections : The Minister of Planning calls for accelerating the electoral process

    Elections : The Minister of Planning calls for accelerating the electoral process

    Nearly a decade after national elections faded from everyday public life in Haiti, the country’s top planning official has issued a urgent call to move the long-stalled democratic transition into full swing, pushing for widespread citizen engagement and immediate action from all electoral stakeholders.

    Speaking this week at a gathering of the Steering Committee for the Electoral Process Support Project, Sandra Paulemon, Haiti’s Minister of Planning and External Cooperation, joined a cross-section of national leaders and international partners for the high-level meeting. Attendees included Jacques Desrosiers, president of Haiti’s Provisional Electoral Council (CEP), senior electoral advisors, Carlos Ruiz Massieu — the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative and head of the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH), Xavier Michon, UNDP’s resident representative in Haiti, plus delegates from the United Nations Office for Project Services, the Organization of American States, and other key technical and financial backers of the process.

    In her address to the committee, Paulemon reaffirmed that organizing credible inclusive elections remains the Haitian government’s top national priority. She stressed that every public institution has already mobilized behind a unified strategic roadmap to align implementation of the official electoral timeline and eliminate coordination gaps.

    Paulemon emphasized that a successful electoral process cannot rely on technical and financial inputs alone. She recalled that back in February of this year, the nation’s core stakeholders signed the National Pact for Stability and the Organization of Elections, a landmark agreement that binds state bodies, political parties, civil society groups, the private sector, religious institutions, media outlets, and all individual Haitians to a shared promise: deliver a credible, peaceful, and inclusive vote for the Haitian people.

    One of the most pressing realities of the long electoral delay, Paulemon noted, is that an entire generation of young Haitians has reached adulthood without ever casting a ballot in a national election or participating in the open democratic debate that forms the backbone of functional democratic societies. While a formal electoral calendar has been outlined, the minister argued that Haiti has not yet shifted into full operational electoral mode. To address this gap, she called for the immediate rollout of a far-reaching national public awareness and information campaign that would make the electoral process visible and accessible to communities across every region of the country.

    “We want to hear dedicated election programming on radio and television, see informational displays and posters across our public streets, outreach campaigns in local neighborhoods, young Haitians debating democratic priorities, families discussing voting rights, citizen organizations mobilizing their communities, and public institutions delivering a consistent message of hope,” Paulemon said. “We want every Haitian to feel that elections are truly approaching, and that democracy is gradually reclaiming its rightful place in our national life.”

    With that goal in mind, she urged the Provisional Electoral Council to take decisive action to shift the entire nation into genuine electoral preparedness mode. “This is not just about adhering to a written schedule,” she explained. “It is about building a national momentum that can restore public trust, boost citizen participation, and revive hope for democracy. Elections need to be visible, audible, and present in the daily lives of all Haitians, so every person feels fully invested in this historic moment.”

    Outlining the commitments the Haitian government has already locked in to deliver the vote, Paulemon noted that the word “election” has slowly disappeared from the daily vocabulary of Haitian people over the past 10 years. In recent weeks, she confirmed, all public institutions have convened to align their operations around the electoral timeline, and the government has committed $120 million in domestic funding to support election organizing. To avoid administrative holdups, she added, all necessary measures will be put in place to mobilize these funds immediately, bypassing routine bureaucratic delays. “Our commitment is unambiguous: the electoral calendar will not be slowed down by state budget procedures,” Paulemon stated.

    The minister also outlined additional executive actions the government has implemented to speed up preparations: the government has prioritized the clearance of electoral materials at Haitian ports and customs, fully mobilized the National Identification Office to accelerate the issuance of national ID cards required for voting, established ongoing coordination between national security bodies and the Electoral Council, and partnered with local authorities to facilitate the deployment of polling stations and electoral materials across the country.

    In her role leading the Ministry of Planning and External Cooperation, Paulemon confirmed her department will maintain its central coordinating function to track government commitments and remove any administrative, institutional, or financial barriers that could delay the electoral timeline. She also repeated her call for the CEP and UNDP to immediately release the funding required to launch the national electoral information and awareness campaign, so every Haitian can see, hear, and feel that the country is firmly moving toward elections.

    “We want awareness messages to start airing across all radio stations, television channels, and digital platforms in the coming days. We want to see billboards and banners across our cities, public service messages on public transit, and targeted campaigns on social media, so every citizen knows Haiti is committed to the path of free elections,” Paulemon said. She went on to stress that elections are far more than just a one-day voting event: “They are the foundation for a return to legitimate state institutions, political stability, consistent public action, and long-term economic recovery for our nation.”

    Elections, the minister reminded attendees, are not planned exclusively behind closed doors in CEP offices. “They are prepared in homes, schools, churches, marketplaces, newsrooms, and in the minds of every single Haitian citizen,” she said. “The Haitian people must feel, hear, and see that elections are coming. The government is ready. Now we call on all stakeholders to pick up the pace so the country moves decisively into electoral mode. History will judge our collective ability to keep this appointment with democracy. We cannot afford to waste another day.”

    The Haitian government is calling on all state institutions, political actors, national and international partners, and every sector of Haitian society to mobilize without further delay. No delay can be allowed to put the Haitian people’s appointment with democracy at risk. Restoring the legitimacy of national institutions is an urgent national imperative that demands commitment from every stakeholder.

  • Grand North : Second phase of the National Conference of Religious Leaders

    Grand North : Second phase of the National Conference of Religious Leaders

    In a pivotal step to foster collaboration between state institutions and faith-based groups across Haiti, the second phase of the National Conference of Religious Leaders for Peace, Stability, and Civic Engagement got underway on August 7, 2026, at Villa Caracol in the country’s Grand North region. The opening ceremony was led by Raina Forbin, Haiti’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Religious Affairs, kicking off a day of collaborative dialogue that builds on the outcomes of the first national conference hosted in Port-au-Prince back in May.

    Over 100 stakeholders gathered for the event, bringing together representatives from every major religious denomination across Grand North alongside delegates from Haiti’s public government institutions. This gathering is not an isolated initiative: it directly follows up on commitments and discussions outlined during the inaugural National Conference of Religious Leaders, which took place May 28–29 in the Haitian capital, where religious leaders signed a joint declaration outlining their shared commitment to national recovery.

    For the Haitian government, the conference serves as a clear demonstration of its dedication to deepening productive dialogue with religious communities, and integrating these trusted local groups into the work of advancing core national priorities. Top among these priorities are the urgent restoration of nationwide security, long-term peacebuilding, expanded economic and social integration for young Haitians, and the strengthening of fractured social cohesion across the country. Beyond these pressing issues, participants will also deliberate on the upcoming national electoral process, exploring concrete roles that religious communities can play to ensure the critical democratic exercise is conducted successfully and peacefully.

    During her opening address to delegates, Minister Forbin emphasized the need for a renewed partnership between the Haitian state and religious groups built on three foundational pillars: trust, mutual respect, and shared responsibility for the country’s future. “Religious leaders, you are a transformative force across this country,” Forbin told the gathering. “You carry a responsibility to work hand in hand with the state. It is only together, each of us upholding our respective roles and honoring the scope of our shared responsibilities, that we can restore security, consolidate lasting peace, deliver a successful upcoming election, and put Haiti back on a steady path toward long-term stability and inclusive development.”

  • Corporate tax windfall raises urgency for faster reforms

    Corporate tax windfall raises urgency for faster reforms

    Barbados has recorded a windfall of more than $150 million in additional corporate tax revenue following the implementation of landmark global tax reforms, but industry leaders are sounding a warning that the Caribbean nation risks losing international companies to more operationally efficient jurisdictions unless it accelerates public sector modernization.

    The new tax regime, which includes the Qualified Domestic Minimum Top-up Tax paired with the OECD-led Pillar Two framework, sets a 15% effective minimum tax for large multinational enterprises and a 9% rate for domestic companies. Introduced to bring Barbados’ tax code in line with global standards and defend its domestic corporate tax base, the reform has already delivered a substantial infusion into the island’s public coffers, data from the Central Bank of Barbados confirms. The Mia Mottley-led administration plans to direct the extra revenue toward strengthening social safety nets, expanding regulatory capacity, and delivering direct economic relief to local citizens.

    However, the unexpected revenue boost has reignited debates over Barbados’ long-term competitiveness as an international business hub, with observers questioning whether higher tax rates will erode the island’s long-standing appeal to global corporations. Carmel Haynes, executive director of the Barbados International Business Association (BIBA), told reporters that while the tax overhaul initially triggered unease across the offshore business sector, overall investor confidence has held up better than early forecasts predicted. “Early projections of a mass exodus of foreign capital simply did not come to pass,” Haynes noted. “While there have been some companies that chose to relocate, we continue to see new business incorporations, so it would be wrong to write off Barbados’ attractiveness at this stage.”

    Central Bank data backs this assessment: after an initial uptick in non-renewals of foreign currency permits when the reform was first rolled out, renewal rates have since stabilized, and the island’s largest corporate taxpayers have opted to retain their local operations. “We have not seen a mass departure of firms over the 9% domestic rate,” Haynes said. “The fact that major taxpayers are still here and meeting their new higher tax obligations signals solid confidence in the market.”

    The impact of the new regime has been uneven across different industry segments. Highly mobile corporate structures set up primarily for tax minimization have faced the most pressure to relocate, but core sectors where Barbados holds established global market share have seen little disruption. Notably, the captive insurance industry, where Barbados ranks among the world’s top five domiciles alongside Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, and Delaware, has remained largely stable.

    Haynes pointed out that many multinationals choose Barbados for strategic advantages that go far beyond base tax rates, including the island’s extensive network of double taxation treaties that offer unique legal protections for firms operating in complex regional markets like Cuba and Venezuela. Now that the 15% global minimum tax has leveled the playing field across all participating jurisdictions, Barbados still retains key competitive edges over its Caribbean peers: administrative and corporate setup costs remain significantly lower than in higher-cost hubs like Bermuda and the Cayman Islands, and the island has long marketed itself as having a highly educated professional workforce that keeps labor costs stable while meeting global regulatory substance requirements. This skilled talent pool is paired with decades of regulatory stability and legal predictability, factors that continue to reassure long-term foreign investors.

    Even with these inherent strengths, BIBA is urging the government not to take existing investor loyalty for granted. With tax rate differences largely eliminated by OECD rules, non-tax factors — particularly administrative efficiency and speed of service delivery — have become the most critical differentiator for competing international business hubs. The association is calling on the Mottley administration to reinvest the new tax revenue directly into public service modernization, cutting bureaucratic red tape, and advancing long-delayed digital transformation projects. A top priority is full digitization of the Corporate Affairs and Intellectual Property Office (CAIPO), with local businesses calling for faster company registration processing, automated cross-agency data sharing to cut redundant paperwork, and legal recognition of digital signatures for corporate transactions.

    “When companies know their applications will be processed quickly, their questions answered and their needs met efficiently, we will outcompete other jurisdictions,” Haynes said. “We cannot rest on our past successes. We cannot assume companies currently operating here will stay indefinitely. We have to meet their modern needs and prove we want their business by delivering the highest quality services possible.” While some government agencies including Business Barbados and the Financial Services Commission have already started expanding staffing to improve service, Haynes warned that the pace of reform needs to accelerate sharply to avoid frustrating investors. “If companies get fed up with delays and leave, the damage will already be done,” she said.

    Looking ahead, long-term uncertainty around the global Pillar Two framework remains, driven by shifting geopolitical dynamics. The United States has not yet formally adopted the regime, facing growing domestic political pushback against global tax mandates, leaving open questions about whether the 15% minimum tax will remain intact over the next decade. “Geopolitical shifts could change the long-term trajectory of the global minimum tax regime,” Haynes noted. “It is still too early to tell if this framework is permanent, so we cannot yet know what its ultimate impact on Barbados will be.”

  • Teen’s Flight to Escape Bees Ends in Death

    Teen’s Flight to Escape Bees Ends in Death

    On August 7, 2026, a sudden and horrifying encounter with a swarm of bees left Belize reeling from an unexpected young death: 18-year-old autistic teenager Xue Liu drowned in the Belize River after jumping into the water to escape the stinging insects.

    The incident unfolded along the Philip Goldson Highway, just outside Belize City near the Whitfield Community, where Liu was traveling with her father. Both were attacked by the aggressive swarm, and in a panic to escape the bees, Liu leaped into the nearby Belize River. Her father suffered non-fatal injuries from the attack and was transferred to a local hospital for treatment, leaving emergency responders scrambling to locate the missing teen.

    Local rescue organization 501 Lifeguards was one of the first groups to answer the call for help, after an urgent appeal for assistance was shared on Facebook. Organization owner Andrew Gentle arrived on scene quickly, deploying a drone to scan the wide river from the air. Gentle noted that the river reaches depths of around 30 feet, with a surprisingly strong current that complicated search efforts from the start.

    The Belize Coast Guard soon joined the operation, bringing specialized diving equipment and a larger surveillance drone to expand the search. Additional resources from the Belize Port Authority and private boat owners also joined the multi-agency effort, with divers methodically combing the riverbanks and drones systematically covering the water’s surface while Liu’s family gathered on shore, waiting anxiously for news. Liu’s brother, who arrived after being alerted by a family member, spoke of his disorientation and fear in the immediate aftermath of the incident, saying he had no clear details of what had led his sister and father to the area that day.

    While search crews worked to locate Liu, a specialized bee removal team was dispatched to the site to clear the remaining swarm, which had already been cordoned off by local police with caution tape to prevent further injuries. Hours into the search, a coast guard officer made a grim discovery: he detected what felt like a foot and fabric consistent with pants under the water. It took search teams another half an hour to fully recover Liu’s body, bringing the agonizing search to a tragic close.

    First responders gathered to console Liu’s grieving brother, offering prayers and support as the family came to terms with their loss. Tevin Conorque, a lifeguard instructor with 501 Lifeguards, reflected on the difficult recovery operation, noting that even with years of training, recovering a young life lost is an emotional experience. “This is what we train for,” Conorque said. “Every time we hear someone has drowned, we feel it as lifeguards, and we will always show up to help any way we can.”

    Belize Coast Guard Commandant Rear Admiral Gregory Soberanis, who was on site to support his diving team, spoke to the emotional toll of such recoveries for first responders. “It is never easy, especially when you are talking about losing someone so young,” Soberanis said. “After years of recoveries, it still hits hard, especially when you see the family waiting on the bank. It’s impossible not to be moved by it.”

    What began as an ordinary outing ended in unthinkable tragedy, leaving a family mourning a life cut far too short by a random, terrifying chain of events. The community has rallied around the Liu family in the wake of the incident, honoring the commitment of the multi-agency search team that worked tirelessly to bring the teen home.

  • Underage drinking concerns raised at Crop Over events

    Underage drinking concerns raised at Crop Over events

    As Barbados’ iconic Crop Over festival enters its peak summer season, the National Council on Substance Abuse (NCSA) has issued an urgent warning over widespread failures to prevent underage access to alcohol at public festival events. Reports of minors purchasing and consuming alcoholic beverages without mandatory age or identity checks have prompted the public health agency to highlight the serious risks weak regulatory enforcement poses to young people across the island.

    NCSA counselor Mosiah Hoyte shared details of the agency’s on-the-ground observations with local outlet Barbados TODAY, confirming that the issue was detected during the festival’s busiest period, when young attendees gather at events where alcohol is sold and promoted extensively. “There is definitely a major concern about underage alcohol use throughout Crop Over,” Hoyte stated. “Right now, we are not seeing consistent, enforced policies requiring ID checks at festival venues, and as a result, we are directly observing underage drinking taking place across multiple events.”

    Hoyte pointed to a potential conflict between event operators’ commercial priorities and their legal and ethical responsibility to block alcohol access to minors. “Many vendors and organizers are focused on maximizing sales, and any transaction is seen as a good outcome for their bottom line,” he explained. “But this profit-driven approach comes at a huge cost to our young people. When underage drinking is normalized and easily accessible, it opens the door to a wide range of harmful, risky behaviors that can have long-term impacts.”

    The overlap between the Crop Over season and school summer vacations exacerbates the problem, Hoyte added, noting that minors often face reduced adult supervision during the break, giving them more freedom to obtain and consume alcohol. “In our culture, alcohol is tied to almost every social gathering and celebration, and Crop Over is no exception,” he said. “That normalization makes it even more important that all stakeholders step up to protect vulnerable groups, and young people and teenagers are exactly that – a vulnerable population that needs targeted protection.”

    Hoyte emphasized that event organizers have both a legal and moral obligation to enforce age limits: Barbados law explicitly prohibits selling alcohol to anyone under the age of 18. “Organizers need to go the extra mile to implement strict ID checks, not just to comply with the law and protect themselves from legal consequences, but to keep young people safe,” he said. The NCSA counselor also stressed that parental responsibility plays a critical role in addressing the issue, calling on caregivers to increase oversight of children and teenagers during the summer vacation period. “Parents need to take greater responsibility for knowing where their children are, what activities they are participating in, and what substances they have access to, especially during this unstructured break from school,” he added.

    The underage alcohol access uncovered during this year’s Crop Over is part of a longstanding, growing public health challenge for Barbados, recent NCSA data confirms. October 2025 research from the agency shows that alcohol experimentation among students increases nearly fivefold between primary school and secondary school, with adolescents now classified as an increasingly high-risk group for substance use. Earlier NCSA studies have also found that some children as young as 12 report having consumed alcohol, and public health officials have repeatedly named alcohol as the most commonly used substance among young Barbadians.

    For Hoyte, the problem extends far beyond the annual Crop Over festival, framing it as a systemic issue requiring coordinated action across all sectors of society to protect young people from early substance exposure and its long-term harms. “This is not just a festival problem – it is a broader public health issue that demands consistent, collective responsibility from everyone, from event organizers to policymakers to families,” he said.

    Attempts to reach Rudy Maloney, president of the Entertainment Association of Barbados – the trade body that represents festival producers and entertainment promoters across the island – for comment on the NCSA’s allegations were unsuccessful as of press time.

  • NHC looks to youth to fill construction skills gap

    NHC looks to youth to fill construction skills gap

    As Barbados ramps up national housing development across the island, a critical shortage of skilled construction labor has pushed the state-run National Housing Corporation (NHC) to accelerate targeted recruitment and skills training programs for young local workers, NHC General Manager Ian Gill announced in a statement Friday.

    Gill made the announcement during the official groundbreaking ceremony for a new 34-unit residential development in Deanstown, St. James. He emphasized that the ongoing boom in construction activity across Barbados has created an urgent gap in skilled talent that cannot be left unaddressed. “With the rapid expansion of construction projects nationwide, we are facing a looming shortage of skilled workers,” Gill explained. “Our goal is to train young enrollees quickly, so they can gain the hands-on expertise needed to bolster NHC’s workforce and keep our housing development targets on track.”

    To fill this skills gap, the NHC has partnered with two leading local technical training institutions: the Samuel Jackman Prescod Institute of Technology and the national Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) program. The partnership has already yielded early results: the NHC recently hired 10 new young workers who completed their training through the TVET pathway, Gill confirmed, adding that building a pipeline of young skilled talent remains the corporation’s top priority.

    Among NHC’s most successful workforce development initiatives is the Barbados Construction Gateway Initiative, a program designed to train new entrants and connect them to long-term opportunities in the construction sector. Gill noted that dozens of program graduates have gone on to secure permanent contractor roles with the NHC, many of whom still work with the corporation today. The program even proved its value during the national response to Hurricane Elsa, when Gateway Initiative trainees stepped in to support emergency reconstruction work across the island. “It is an awesome initiative that has delivered real results for our organization and for young Barbadians looking for stable careers,” Gill said.

    Beyond workforce development, the NHC is also undergoing a broad internal overhaul of its planning division, integrating new digital tools and emerging technologies like artificial intelligence to modernize operations. “Digitization has completely transformed how we approach planning and drafting work,” Gill explained. “New digital platforms streamline workflows, and even artificial intelligence can now assist with core drafting tasks, letting teams make adjustments faster and more efficiently than ever before.”

    The digital upgrade is part of a broader government mandate to expand the NHC’s role across Barbados’ public sector. Gill confirmed the Mia Mottley administration’s official intention to reposition the NHC as the central planning agency for all central government departments and state-owned enterprises. Under the new mandate, the NHC will take on responsibility for planning all public infrastructure projects across every government agency in the country, a mandate that corporation leadership is preparing to fully deliver on in the coming months.

  • Kenscoff : At least 3 police officers injured and an armored vehicle set on fire

    Kenscoff : At least 3 police officers injured and an armored vehicle set on fire

    A brazen attack by heavily armed gang members on Haitian law enforcement in the mountain commune of Kenscoff left at least three police officers wounded and a police armored vehicle destroyed Friday, August 7, 2026, according to local reports.

    The violence unfolded in Viard 2, a neighborhood in southern Kenscoff, when police units moved to repel an incursion by fighters from the Viv Ansanm criminal coalition, one of Haiti’s largest and most violent organized crime syndicates. The intensity of the close-quarters gun battle quickly overwhelmed the initial responding officers, who were forced to send out an urgent appeal for additional backup to hold their position.

    During the sustained exchange of fire, attackers struck the officers’ armored vehicle with multiple Molotov cocktails, igniting a large fire that completely destroyed the vehicle. Three officers sustained bullet wounds of varying severity in the clash.

    Within hours, reinforcements arrived at the scene: active-duty soldiers from the Armed Forces of Haiti (FAd’H), who maintain a permanent garrison in Kenscoff, were deployed to support outgunned police, alongside local vigilante groups that have formed in many Haitian communities to fill gaps in state security. Together, the combined security forces worked to push back the gang assault, re-establish state control over the Viard 2 area, and lay the groundwork for a return to calm.

    In the aftermath of the attack, Kenscoff Mayor Massillon Jean issued a public statement calling for a dramatic expansion of coordinated security operations across the commune. Jean emphasized that sustained, targeted action is the only way for Haitian authorities to fully dislodge armed criminal groups and reassert permanent control over Kenscoff, which has seen a steady rise in gang-related violence in recent months.

    As of Saturday morning, official authorities have not released additional details including the current condition of the injured officers, the number of casualties among attacking gang members, or further updates on security operations in the area. The attack marks the latest escalation of Haiti’s years-long security and political crisis, which has seen armed gangs seize control of large swathes of the capital Port-au-Prince and increasingly expand into outlying suburban and rural communes like Kenscoff.