Released by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime, the 2025 Global Organised Crime Index has delivered new insights into the distribution of organised criminal activity across the Caribbean, with Antigua and Barbuda emerging as one of the bloc’s lowest-risk jurisdictions. The index ranks nations on a 10-point scale, where lower numerical scores signal weaker infiltration of organised crime networks and illicit activity. Antigua and Barbuda earned a criminality score of 3.03, landing it among the eight CARICOM member states that fall below the Caribbean regional average of 4.27. This performance puts the dual-island nation in a similar risk bracket to regional neighbors Barbados, which scored 2.90, and St. Kitts and Nevis, which notched a 3.10. By contrast, the index marks several Caribbean states as far higher-risk hotspots for organised crime: Jamaica recorded a 5.93, Guyana came in at 5.78, and Haiti topped the bloc with a 6.53, holding the unenviable title of the Caribbean nation with the highest documented criminality level. The 2025 assessment measures the prevalence and societal impact of a range of organised criminal operations, from cross-border drug trafficking to a spectrum of other illicit markets operating across the region. Even with Antigua and Barbuda’s relatively strong standing, the broader Caribbean region continues to face persistent systemic threats tied to global drug smuggling. Geographically positioned along key trafficking routes moving cocaine from producer nations to consumer markets in North America and Europe, the Caribbean ranks as the world’s third-largest transit zone for the illicit drug trade. The index’s final conclusions make clear that while Antigua and Barbuda cannot insulate itself entirely from the organised crime pressures impacting the wider Caribbean, its domestic level of criminal activity remains moderate compared to most of its regional peers.
作者: admin
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Antiguan consumer finds strange substance in their juice container
A consumer in Antigua has sparked widespread public discussion about food safety standards after discovering an unknown, mold-like growth inside a sealed packaged Pinehill apple juice product, casting new scrutiny on the brand’s quality control and supply chain distribution processes.
The consumer first shared their discovery on a local customer service discussion forum, detailing that the strange substance was found settled at the bottom of a 1-litre juice carton. The product, which had not been opened prior to the discovery, carries a printed expiration date of August 1, 2026, meaning it is still well within the manufacturer’s designated safe consumption window. It also bears the batch code EY 22:41:21, which would allow the producer to trace the specific production run if an investigation is launched. A photo accompanying the forum post, linked for public viewing by the original news outlet, confirms the presence of the dark fuzzy material inside the sealed container.
As of the latest update, no linked cases of illness or adverse health reactions have been connected to this specific batch of Pinehill apple juice, easing immediate public health fears but leaving broader safety concerns unaddressed. Critically, the consumer has made multiple attempts to contact Pinehill’s manufacturer to report the issue and request an explanation, but the company has not issued any formal statement or official response to the complaint to date. The incident has prompted local consumers to question how food manufacturers operating in Antigua monitor product safety during production, packaging, and distribution, with many calling for greater transparency and faster response times to consumer safety complaints.
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Jordan challenges PNCR to unveil programme for Guyana’s 60th Independence anniversary
In the lead-up to Guyana’s milestone 60th anniversary of independence from British rule, a former senior leader of the country’s main opposition People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) has publicly criticized his own party for failing to finalize a commemorative event schedule months after the 2025 calendar turned over.
Winston Jordan, who served as finance minister in the previous PNCR-led coalition government, made the remarks during an interview with local outlet KAMSTV on Thursday, April 23, 2026. Jordan stressed that the PNCR had a unique obligation to organize early celebrations, given that the party’s founding leader, Forbes Burnham, was the head of government who formally guided Guyana to full sovereignty when it gained independence on May 26, 1966. By his count, the party should have had a full program of activities ready to go no later than December 31, 2025, with just weeks remaining before the major anniversary as of his statement.
“What are you waiting for, PNC? With only a couple of weeks left, you still haven’t even unveiled a full schedule of activities,” Jordan said. “Even if you are facing financial constraints, you should at the very least ensure that our Founder-Leader, Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham, is not written out of this anniversary celebration. We all know that the ruling People’s Progressive Civic (PPPC) will not mention his name if they can avoid it this 60th year.”
Jordan, who has been an outspoken public critic of both the current PPPC government and PNCR opposition leadership, questioned whether the party was passively waiting for the ruling administration to honor Burnham during the national commemorations, rather than taking initiative on its own.
“The moment of independence is a core part of this party’s legacy,” Jordan noted. He also recalled a unifying moment from 1966: while Cheddi Jagan — the iconic leader of the PPP and another towering figure in Guyana’s independence movement — did not join Burnham at the final London independence negotiations, he embraced Burnham on stage at Georgetown’s National Park on the eve of independence, laying a foundation of national unity that ought to be remembered.
Jordan added that low-cost, simple commemorative events are fully within the party’s reach, even with limited funding.
To contextualize this political debate: while Jagan is widely recognized as the earliest and most vocal advocate for Guyana’s separation from British colonial rule, historians widely document that the United Kingdom, pressured by the United States, altered Guyana’s electoral system ahead of the 1964 vote. The change from a first-past-the-post system, under which Jagan’s PPP had won previous elections, to proportional representation was explicitly designed to remove Jagan from power. U.S. officials pushed for the shift over concerns that Jagan’s communist leanings would lead an independent Guyana to align with the Soviet Union during the Cold War. The new electoral system allowed the PNCR to form a coalition government with the United Force party, and the PNCR retained power through elections widely regarded as fraudulent until free democratic elections were restored in 1992, following the end of the Cold War.
As the ruling PPPC has not moved to center Burnham in official 60th anniversary planning, a new opposition party has stepped forward to launch its own months-long national commemoration. Earlier this week, We Invest In Nationhood (WIN) — a new opposition bloc that won 16 parliamentary seats in the 2025 general and regional elections — rolled out a six-week national campaign themed “Rooted in Identity – Rising in Destiny.”
In an official statement, WIN outlined that the initiative is designed to restore meaning, dignity, and national pride to the 60th independence observance by inviting all Guyanese citizens to engage with the country’s anti-colonial history, assess its current development trajectory, and collectively build a shared vision for the future. “Guyana’s independence is more than a date on the calendar; it is the culmination of sacrifice, resilience, and the enduring spirit of a people determined to define their own destiny,” the party said. “This initiative goes beyond superficial celebration to deliver a national program that fosters deeper public awareness, cross-community unity, and broad citizen participation across every region of the country.”
WIN’s campaign includes a range of accessible activities spanning oral history storytelling projects, civic education and national reflection sessions, public dialogues on national identity and the responsibilities of citizenship, cultural festivals showcasing the diversity of Guyanese traditions and creative work, and community service and development projects designed to mobilize citizen action across all sectors of society. The campaign will culminate during Independence Week with a series of official national observances and a large-scale cross-disciplinary production titled *The Dawn of a Nation: Guyana 60*, which will weave together theater, live music, cultural performance, and national reflection to trace Guyana’s journey from colonial struggle to sovereign statehood. “This landmark initiative will reignite a spirit of unity, purpose, and pride that will carry us forward as one people, one nation, with one shared destiny,” WIN added.
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Nederland kampt met grootste veiligheidsdreiging sinds WOII
In a stark annual assessment released Thursday, the Netherlands’ leading intelligence and security service, the Algemene Inlichtingen- en Veiligheidsdienst (AIVD), has sounded the alarm that the country is facing the most severe combination of national security threats it has encountered since the end of World War II. Officials identify major foreign and domestic actors driving this unprecedented risk landscape, as shifting global power dynamics erode decades of relative stability that underpinned Dutch peace and prosperity.
“In the 80 years since our agency was founded, we have never observed a threat environment like the one we face today: our national security is under sustained pressure from multiple directions simultaneously,” AIVD Director Simone Rmit stated during the official launch of the 2025 annual threat report. She emphasized that after generations of predictable, stable global order that allowed the Netherlands to grow and thrive, the international system has now become fundamentally volatile and unpredictable.
As a founding member of both NATO and the European Union, the Netherlands faces particularly acute external threats from two major powers: Russia and China, the report confirmed. According to AIVD analysis, Russia has grown increasingly aggressive toward Western nations, conducting regular disruptive cyberattacks and building capacity for a long-term confrontation with the NATO alliance. The assessment concludes that a direct military clash between Russia and Western powers can no longer be ruled out as an impossible outcome.
Russia has repeatedly rejected claims of planned aggression against NATO member states, countering that the “collective West” itself threatens Russian national security through its extensive financial and military backing of Ukraine amid the ongoing war.
On the Chinese front, the AIVD accuses Beijing of continuing “illicit” efforts to acquire cutting-edge Western technologies to reshape the global order in line with its own strategic and economic interests. The service notes that China has long been categorized as the top threat to Dutch economic security, and that risk has grown even more pronounced over the course of 2025. China has consistently denied engaging in any illegal technology acquisition activities and maintains it poses no threat to Western nations.
Beyond external risks, the report also highlights growing domestic security concerns. Both jihadist extremist groups and far-right extremist movements are listed as the primary internal threats to the country, with the AIVD noting that both ideologies are gaining alarming levels of traction among young Dutch people, a trend that officials describe as deeply troubling.
The AIVD’s high-profile warning underscores just how complex and multifaceted modern security challenges have become for the Netherlands, at a time when the global order is far less stable and predictable than it has been at any point in the past eight decades.






