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  • André Hill Appointed Antigua and Barbuda’s Honorary Consul to The Bahamas

    André Hill Appointed Antigua and Barbuda’s Honorary Consul to The Bahamas

    In a move set to deepen diplomatic and people-to-people connections between two neighboring Caribbean nations, Antiguan attorney André Hill has taken up the post of Honorary Consul to The Bahamas, with his appointment taking immediate effect.

    Shortly after the announcement, Hill held a formal meeting with Antigua and Barbuda’s Minister of Foreign Affairs E.P. Chet Greene and senior leadership from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The gathering centered on clarifying Hill’s new scope of duties, and exploring how his on-the-ground work in The Bahamas will advance both the current and long-term policy goals of the Antiguan foreign ministry.

    Ann Marie Layne, Director General of Foreign Affairs for Antigua and Barbuda, outlined a core function of Hill’s new role: he will act as the primary point of contact for all Antigua and Barbuda nationals residing in or visiting The Bahamas who need consular support or official government services.

    Hill’s deep personal connections to The Bahamas position him well for the role: he has resided in the country for a number of years and is married to a Bahamian citizen. He also comes from a prominent public service family: his father Radford Hill previously served as Antigua and Barbuda’s Attorney General, and his mother Cecile Hill currently holds the position of High Court Registrar.

    As a practicing legal professional with established roots in The Bahamas, Hill’s appointment is widely expected to significantly strengthen Antigua and Barbuda’s diplomatic footprint in the region, while improving access to critical support for its citizens living across the border in The Bahamas.

  • Swimming Federation Seeks Parents for Water Safety Survey

    Swimming Federation Seeks Parents for Water Safety Survey

    As the global observance of World Drowning Prevention Day on July 25 approaches, the Antigua and Barbuda Swimming Federation (ABSF) has launched a public outreach effort, calling on all parents and guardians of children aged 6 to 12 to take part in a targeted national survey. This survey is a foundational step toward building a comprehensive, country-wide school swimming and water safety initiative that addresses long-standing public safety gaps in the island nation.

    The core goal of the data collection effort is to build a clear, evidence-based picture of current swimming competency levels across households throughout Antigua and Barbuda. ABSF officials emphasize that the aggregated, anonymized data collected through the survey will serve as a critical tool when advocating for and securing funding to roll out the national program. Once funded, the initiative will embed structured swimming instruction and formal water safety education into school curriculums across the country.

    In a public statement highlighting the urgency of the work, the ABSF drew attention to a stark global public health statistic: drowning ranks as the third leading cause of unintentional injury death for children between the ages of 4 and 14 worldwide. Against this backdrop, the federation reiterated that three core interventions are non-negotiable for cutting preventable drowning deaths: constant active adult supervision of children near water, mandatory access to structured swimming and water safety lessons from an early age, and widespread community training in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

    Closing its appeal, the ABSF stressed that every child, regardless of background or location, has a fundamental right to feel and be safe when engaging with water environments. The federation is encouraging all eligible households to set aside time to complete the survey, noting that broad community participation will directly strengthen the impact and accessibility of the future national program.

  • Heavy govt cargo was loaded on MV Barima; “break down” in routine inspection

    Heavy govt cargo was loaded on MV Barima; “break down” in routine inspection

    Updated: Wednesday, 22 July 2026, 8:46 AM by Denis Chabrol

    In the wake of the tragic sinking of the decades-old MV Barima off Guyana’s Essequibo Coast last weekend, top government officials have acknowledged critical failures in pre-departure protocols and confirmed that unaccounted government cargo was loaded onto the aging vessel before it went down.

    Prime Minister Mark Phillips confirmed Tuesday during a press briefing that Guyana’s government had placed multiple heavy pieces of equipment and materials on the vessel before it departed Georgetown’s Kingston Goods Wharf Saturday afternoon, bound for Port Kaituma. The 87-year-old vessel sank roughly seven hours after departure, approximately 10 nautical miles from the Essequibo Coast.

    “From what we have been able to establish so far, there was a clear breakdown in routine vessel inspections that should have been completed before the MV Barima left port,” Phillips told reporters.

    When questioned about losses to the government beyond the vessel itself, Phillips confirmed the Public Works Ministry lost a range of assets onboard, including construction machinery, fuel reserves, and multiple all-terrain vehicles (ATVs). “Every lost item will be cataloged and assessed as a core part of the official investigation that is now getting underway,” he added.

    Phillips declined to confirm or deny widespread claims that senior government officials or ministers overruled weight limit restrictions to force the extra cargo onto the vessel. “I have not received any formal reporting on that allegation at this stage. Once the investigation opens, anyone with evidence of improper pressure to load excess cargo can come forward and submit official statements for the probe to review,” he said.

    Public Works Minister Juan Edghill, whose department oversaw the cargo shipment, clarified that the equipment was bound for ongoing infrastructure projects in the Port Kaituma region. He told reporters the MV Barima was rated to carry four vehicles, and the official cargo listed only a pickup truck and one passenger car. Edghill also noted that the government maintains a mandatory pre-departure inspection system for all commercial vessels operating from Georgetown ports.

    When pressed on why inspectors failed to catch that the vessel was carrying far more passengers than were listed on the official manifest, Phillips interjected to confirm that the gap in oversight is itself a key focus of the coming inquiry. “It is clear that existing systems failed here, and that failure will be fully examined as part of the investigation,” the prime minister said.

    Initial official counts put the total number of people onboard at 133, consisting of 116 passengers and 17 crew members. However, when cross-checking against rescued passengers revealed multiple people unaccounted for on the original list, authorities reviewed port security footage to revise the count. Officials now estimate a total of 179 passengers and crew were onboard when the vessel sank Saturday night around 11 PM.

    The country’s political opposition has repeatedly called for Edghill to step down over the incident. When asked about the resignation demands Tuesday, the minister responded that he would address all questions “at the appropriate time, not tonight.”

  • Venezolaanse families geven de hoop niet op na aardbevingen

    Venezolaanse families geven de hoop niet op na aardbevingen

    Three weeks have passed since two powerful back-to-back earthquakes struck northern Venezuela, but for hundreds of grieving families across the hard-hit coastal region of La Guaira, the agonizing search for missing loved ones buried beneath collapsed buildings remains far from over. The official death toll from the June 24 quakes – registering magnitudes 7.2 and 7.5 respectively – has already climbed past 5,000, leaving thousands more families trapped in a devastating limbo between confirmed loss and unresolved uncertainty.

  • TRINIDAD: Six Crew Members of Fishing Vessel ST VINCENT VII Rescued at Sea

    TRINIDAD: Six Crew Members of Fishing Vessel ST VINCENT VII Rescued at Sea

    A dramatic open-sea rescue operation has ended with a successful outcome for six missing fishermen, who have been pulled from their disabled vessel alive in waters off Trinidad and Tobago, the nation’s Ministry of Defence confirmed in an official announcement Wednesday.

    The chain of events that led to the rescue began on Tuesday evening, when the Maritime Operations Command Center received an urgent distress alert from the crew of the MV Marvel Kite, a commercial merchant ship traveling to the United States. At approximately 9 p.m. local time, while sailing roughly 349 nautical miles east of Galeota on a westbound course, the merchant vessel’s crew spotted the struggling fishing boat, identified as the ST Vincent VII.

    When the crew of the MV Marvel Kite maneuvered closer to assess the situation, they made a hopeful discovery: all six people on board the fishing vessel matched the identities of the crew that had been reported missing days earlier. In a reassuring update, the ministry shared that all six fishermen were in fairly stable health, with no major injuries requiring immediate emergency care.

    Following the initial sighting and confirmation, the Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard launched a coordinated response, dispatching cutter CG42, under the command of Lieutenant Commander Straker, to meet the MV Marvel Kite at sea. The mission of the Coast Guard crew was to take custody of the rescued fishermen and transport them back to shore. Officials confirmed that the group was on track to reach land within four hours of the Coast Guard’s departure.

    In the wake of the successful rescue, the Trinidad and Tobago government issued a public statement of gratitude to the crew of the MV Marvel Kite, crediting their quick reporting and willingness to intervene as critical to the positive outcome. Authorities added that they would release additional details to the public as more information becomes available following the fishermen’s arrival on land.

  • St Philip roads earmarked for repairs, resurfacing

    St Philip roads earmarked for repairs, resurfacing

    For years, residents of St Philip have raised urgent alarms over crumbling, unsafe road infrastructure across the parish, and their calls for action have finally yielded results: more than a dozen local roads are marked for full resurfacing, while targeted lighting and junction improvements will also address long-standing safety and mobility concerns. Transport and Works Minister Kirk Humphrey made the official announcement Monday evening during the St Philip Ideas Forum, hosted at Princess Margaret Secondary School, where residents gathered to share decades of frustrations with neglected thoroughfares.

    Attendees centered much of their discussion on the poor condition of high-traffic and residential routes, including Ebenezer, Marchfield, Mangrove, Train Road and Farm Road. They also flagged persistent flooding near the Wynter Crawford Roundabout, which stems from uneven, degraded road surfaces that disrupt drainage and trap water during heavy storms.

    Longtime St Philip resident Andrea Drayton was among the community members who pushed for immediate work on Farm Road, arguing that upgrading the heavily deteriorated corridor would cut crippling congestion on routes leading into Six Roads. Drayton explained, “A huge volume of traffic coming into Six Roads relies on Congo Road, and right now Farm Road is nearly impassable for many drivers. If we resurface Farm Road to make it usable, it will give motorists an alternative route into Six Roads, easing the pressure on the Congo Road corridor.”

    Carl Padmore, a 50-plus-year resident of Marchfield Village, shared that the core Marchfield Village Road stretch has never received a full, major resurfacing in his lifetime. “All we’ve ever gotten are small patchwork fixes,” Padmore explained, detailing the 2-mile stretch that runs from the gap opposite Traynor Road near the Church of Christ, out to the four-cross intersection, through the section locally called Suckhole past the former attorney general’s residence, around Zion Pentecostal Church, and out to the local market. “Any time we get heavy rain, that entire route becomes almost impossible to traverse. The whole stretch is in desperate need of comprehensive repair.”

    In response, Humphrey confirmed that funding has already been secured for over 10 roads across St Philip, with construction set to kick off imminently. He listed the approved projects: “Steward Hill, Culpepper Development, Bottom Bay, Content, Ocean City Main, Foul Bay Beach Road, Harmony Lodge, Atlantic Ridge, Halton to Ebenezer, and Marchfield Village Road are all fully funded. We also have major infrastructure funding from the Development Bank of Latin America (CAF) for two additional large-scale projects: the Woodbourne development corridor and the route from St Patrick’s to Charnocks.”

    Humphrey added that while a small number of projects are still waiting on final design approvals, the vast majority are ready to move into construction. “St Philip residents can rest assured that every one of these roads will be addressed in the very near future,” he said. “This is not an empty promise — we already have the resources allocated for these works.”

    The meeting also touched on persistent safety hazards at the junction near St Philip Parish Church, where local resident Alan Hart noted a repeated pattern of preventable accidents, caused by poor sightlines for speeding drivers. Hart called for vegetation clearing, junction widening, and new lighting to reduce crash risk. Humphrey confirmed that the dangerous junction would be prioritized for upgrades, noting that road infrastructure is as much about public safety as it is about mobility. “Roads don’t just move people — they have to keep people safe,” he said. “We’ve assessed the junction, and we will fix the hazard there.”

    Drayton also raised the issue of missing street lighting along the Highway 5 corridor between Sky Mall and Six Roads, saying that the unlit sections in undeveloped, non-residential areas force her to take longer, less direct routes home after dark. “There are long stretches with no lighting at all, and it’s extremely dangerous to drive that route at night,” she explained. “Most nights, I end up rerouting through the airport just to get home safely.” In response, a technical advisor from the Ministry of Transport and Works noted that solar-powered street lighting is under consideration for the corridor, pending supply chain availability for the required equipment.

  • Family Appeals for Public’s Help to Find Missing Vessel

    Family Appeals for Public’s Help to Find Missing Vessel

    The relatives of Rowel Martin, who is also known by the aliases “Money Man” and “Badda Bitch”, have launched an urgent public appeal for help in tracing a missing vessel that Martin was traveling on when it disappeared. In their formal request for assistance, the family confirmed that Martin was last spotted in open waters, but has offered no further details about critical missing information, including the vessel’s intended route or the exact date and time communication with the ship was cut off. Members of the public who have any relevant information about the vessel’s location, its final movements, or Martin’s whereabouts are strongly encouraged to reach out to local law enforcement or maritime search authorities as soon as possible. They can also contact the Martin family directly with any tips. Beyond requesting information, the family has asked community members to spread the appeal across local and social media networks to expand the search effort, and to hold Martin and all others connected to the missing vessel in their thoughts and prayers as search efforts get underway.

  • Two men face July 23 trial over EC$600,000 hashish seizure

    Two men face July 23 trial over EC$600,000 hashish seizure

    A high-stakes drug trafficking case involving one of the largest narcotics hauls in recent national history is moving forward, with two accused defendants scheduled to begin their trial on July 23 this year. Denfield Roberts, who was 49 at the time of his arrest, and Deshawn Lattibeaudiere, 23 when taken into custody, appeared before Justice Ann-Marie Smith in court on Tuesday, where the official trial timeline was formally set.

    The charges against the pair stem from a law enforcement raid conducted in Jennings on May 12, 2024. During the targeted search operation, police allege they uncovered 52.9 pounds of hashish, a concentrated derivative of the cannabis plant. Local authorities have valued the seized narcotics at an estimated EC$600,415 in street value, marking the seizure as one of the largest drug busts the jurisdiction has seen in recent years.

    Each defendant is represented by separate legal counsel: Attorney Sherfield Bowen is handling the defense for Roberts, while Lawrence Daniel serves as counsel for Lattibeaudiere. The upcoming trial will see prosecutors present evidence related to the alleged trafficking operation, with the defense set to respond to the criminal charges leveled against their clients.

  • Family seeks review of police response after three break-in incidents

    Family seeks review of police response after three break-in incidents

    A household in Antigua and Barbuda has publicly called for a formal review of the Royal Police Force of Antigua and Barbuda’s handling of three successive break-in events at their property, stating that ongoing security failures have left them unable to feel secure in their own residence.

    In an official public statement released this week, the family detailed the sequence of incidents: one completed break-in, a first attempted intrusion, and a second recent attempted break-in that marked the third targeted attack on their home. While police officers attended the scene after each report, the family says they are deeply frustrated with the response to the most recent incident.

    Key to their criticism are allegations that the responding officer focused inappropriate questions on whether the women residing at the address had a boyfriend or regular male visitor, despite repeated denials of any such person being connected to the property. Compounding the family’s alarm is the suspicious behavior of their surveillance system: all cameras went completely dark during the latest incident, after one device was tampered with in an earlier attack. The family says this pattern suggests the perpetrator or perpetrators behind the intrusions have detailed knowledge of the home’s security setup.

    The family further claims the responding officer concluded his visit by stating he could take no further action, as he had not observed any direct evidence of suspicious activity on the property. “As victims who have now experienced multiple incidents, including one successful break-in, we expected our concerns to be taken seriously and investigated thoroughly,” the statement read. “Instead, we were left feeling dismissed at a time when we were already frightened and vulnerable.”

    The family was careful to clarify that their grievances do not extend to the entire Royal Police Force of Antigua and Barbuda, acknowledging that many officers carry out their professional duties with care and diligence. Even so, they argue that all reports of completed and attempted break-ins demand urgent, empathetic attention and full, comprehensive investigation.

    Their core demand is for the senior Police Administration to launch a full review of the handling of their case, and to put appropriate support and protective measures in place before a more violent or damaging incident occurs. “We simply want to feel safe in our own home,” the family emphasized.

    As of press time, representatives from the Police Administration have not issued any public comment in response to the family’s allegations.

  • Manorath: Corruptiebestrijding begint bij integriteit en preventie

    Manorath: Corruptiebestrijding begint bij integriteit en preventie

    On July 22, at the opening of Suriname’s national Anti-Corruption Congress, Minister of Justice and Police Harish Monorath laid out a new, multi-pronged approach to combating systemic corruption, arguing that detection and prosecution alone are not enough to root out the problem. Speaking to an audience of national and international experts, Monorath emphasized that long-term success in the fight against corruption requires targeted investment in prevention, institutional strengthening, transparency, and a widespread societal culture rooted in integrity.

    “Corruption poses a severe threat to every democratic rule of law, and it holds back the socio-economic development of our nation,” Monorath stated during his opening address. He stressed that anti-corruption work cannot fall solely to the government; it requires shared responsibility across the private sector, civil society organizations, and individual citizens. An accountable, integrity-driven governance culture can only take hold, he argued, when every segment of Surinamese society fulfills its distinct role in upholding ethical standards. The minister also expressed appreciation for the congress, which brought together specialists from across borders to exchange knowledge, best practices, and lived experience in designing effective anti-corruption frameworks.

    Monorath confirmed that the Surinamese government is currently advancing a more robust, impact-oriented national anti-corruption agenda, with core priorities including modernizing outdated anti-corruption legislation, strengthening the capacity of state institutions, and embedding integrity standards across all levels of the public sector. He revealed that dozens of new legislative proposals from the Ministry of Justice and Police are currently in preparation or under parliamentary review, all designed to further reinforce the country’s rule of law framework.

    International cooperation remains a central pillar of Suriname’s strategy, Monorath noted. The country aligns its national policies with the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC), which provides a globally recognized framework for corruption prevention, criminal prosecution, cross-border collaboration, and the recovery of assets gained through corrupt activity.

    The minister highlighted that public officials bear a unique responsibility to model ethical behavior, noting that integrity, transparency, and accountable leadership must be visible in the daily work of government. To embed this standard, the administration is pushing forward new initiatives focused on ethical leadership training, formal codes of conduct for civil servants, and binding legal protections for whistleblowers who report corrupt activity.

    Repeating his core argument, Monorath emphasized that preventive measures are ultimately more effective at reducing systemic corruption than purely punitive action. The government’s anti-corruption strategy rests on six core pillars: greater transparency, open government practices, institutional strengthening, whistleblower protection, international collaboration, and active civil society engagement. He also called for expanded investment in integrity education, to help young people understand the value of fair governance and the rule of law from an early age.

    In closing, Monorath called on all Surinamese citizens to take personal ownership of building an integrity-focused nation. “Integrity starts with personal responsibility. It is a choice we make, even when no one is watching,” he told attendees. Only when corruption is no longer normalized, and public trust in government and its institutions is strengthened, can Suriname achieve truly sustainable development, he added.