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  • Hewanorra International Airport control tower more than halfway complete

    Hewanorra International Airport control tower more than halfway complete

    The major redevelopment initiative for Hewanorra International Airport continues to advance on schedule, with St. Lucia’s Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre sharing key milestone updates during his official 2026/2027 Budget address earlier this week. Among the most critical infrastructure components of the multi-phase upgrade, construction of a brand-new air traffic control tower has crossed the halfway completion mark, standing at 52 percent finished as of the budget presentation. Prime Minister Pierre confirmed that the project remains on track for full completion of the control tower by the end of the current calendar year.

    Beyond the control tower works, the Prime Minister outlined the next major phase of the redevelopment: the construction of a reimagined terminal building. To ensure transparency, competitive pricing, and global expertise, the government launched an international open tender process to select a qualified construction contractor for the high-profile terminal project. According to Pierre, the tender window closed on November 30, 2025, with a total of seven formal bids submitted by international and regional construction firms.

    After an initial rigorous technical evaluation to assess each bidder’s experience, operational capacity, and ability to meet the project’s strict design and safety standards, three shortlisted firms have moved forward to the final financial bid submission stage. The Prime Minister told stakeholders that evaluation of the competing financial proposals is currently ongoing. Once the assessment process concludes, a winning contractor will be appointed, and physical construction work on the new terminal is scheduled to break ground before the end of 2026. This large-scale airport upgrade is expected to boost St. Lucia’s tourism capacity, improve air travel safety, and support long-term economic growth in the island nation.

  • Abinader reports 90% completion of Santo Domingo 2026 sports venues

    Abinader reports 90% completion of Santo Domingo 2026 sports venues

    As the countdown to the XXV Central American and Caribbean Games Santo Domingo 2026 continues, Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader recently led an inspection tour of upgraded sports infrastructure at the iconic Juan Pablo Duarte Olympic Center, checking on progress of the country’s largest-ever preparations for a regional sporting event.

    Official updates from the tour confirm that overall renovation work at both the Juan Pablo Duarte Olympic Center and Parque del Este has hit the 90% completion milestone. Many key competition venues are already fully finished and ready to host athletes: table tennis, gymnastics, aquatics, archery, rowing, canoeing, and shooting facilities have all passed preliminary checks and meet international event requirements. Remaining venues, including handball, softball, combat sports, and tennis courts, as well as the main Olympic Stadium, are in advanced stages of construction and on track to be completed well ahead of the tournament’s opening.

    During his inspection, Abinader emphasized that all infrastructure upgrades are being built to meet global international sports standards, designed to serve more than just the 2026 regional games. The upgraded venues will be capable of hosting top-tier international competitions long after the closing ceremony, from elite track and field championships to potential NBA exhibition matches. As an early showcase of the new facilities, the president announced a high-profile friendly basketball game between the Dominican Republic and United States men’s national teams, which will feature active NBA players and is scheduled to take place on July 4 this year.

    The 2026 Central American and Caribbean Games are set to run from July 24 to August 9, and Abinader stressed that the newly renovated venues will remain a permanent public resource for Dominican athletes after the tournament concludes. Progress is also moving forward on the event’s Olympic Village, which will house competing athletes during the games: of the 1,200 planned athlete apartments, 600 have already been fully completed.

    Sports Minister Kelvin Cruz noted that consistent, robust government support has been a critical factor in keeping the massive preparation project on schedule. José Monegro, president of the games’ organizing committee, added that the 2026 event will make history for the Dominican Republic: it is expected to welcome roughly 6,200 participating athletes from across the region and will feature the largest medal program in the country’s international sporting hosting history.

  • Online extortionist group did not hack Guyana’s secured mining sector data- Natural Resources official

    Online extortionist group did not hack Guyana’s secured mining sector data- Natural Resources official

    On Tuesday, a senior official from Guyana’s Ministry of Natural Resources moved to debunk widespread claims made by cyber extortion syndicate FULCRUMSEC that the group had successfully hijacked sensitive internal data tied to the South American nation’s critical mining sector. The official clarified that all information the group claims to have stolen consists entirely of publicly available datasets, countering the hacker group’s narrative of a major national security compromise.

    According to details shared by the ministry, Global Venture — the third-party contractor contracted by the Guyanese government to develop and manage the country’s national mineral mapping project — first detected the extortion attempt on April 15, when the firm received a suspicious ransom demand. The hackers demanded a $500,000 payment in cryptocurrency to avoid publishing the claimed stolen data via a dark web link. Immediately after receiving the email, Global Venture alerted the IT division of the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) and deployed defensive cybersecurity measures to mitigate any potential risk.

    Global Venture flagged multiple red flags in the extortion attempt that raised immediate suspicion: the email referenced Analog Gold Inc., a mining firm that Global Venture has no operational connection to, and Prospector — the AI-powered mineral exploration platform built and maintained by Global Venture — has not had any business ties to Analog Gold for more than three years.

    Prospector, the AI platform launched by Global Venture six years ago to support mineral mapping and exploration operations, launched an immediate internal forensic audit after the extortion attempt was made public. Initial audit findings have confirmed that no unauthorized malicious modification or exfiltration of non-public sensitive data occurred. The investigation did confirm that FULCRUMSEC exploited a misconfigured access key to scrape and copy publicly accessible data stored in Global Venture’s Amazon S3 cloud storage buckets linked to the Prospector staging platform. Prospector has since patched the security vulnerability, implemented additional monitoring protocols, and rolled out extra security safeguards to prevent similar unauthorized access in the future.

    In their dark web posting earlier this week, FULCRUMSEC amplified their claim of a major breach, asserting that the group had exfiltrated 2.2 terabytes of data across 52 cloud storage buckets. The group alleged the haul included full details of Prospector’s commercial infrastructure and a complete copy of Guyana’s sovereign national mining database. The extortion group further claimed the breach stemmed from critical infrastructure misconfigurations, claiming Guyanese government sensitive data was incorrectly stored in the same Amazon Web Services account that Global Venture uses for staging logs and AI model training data. The group is currently circulating a 58-gigabyte “sample package” of claimed stolen data to pressure Global Venture into paying the ransom demand.

    FULCRUMSEC also published a detailed list of supposed sensitive data they obtained, including personal identifiable information (PII) such as full names, tax IDs, national ID numbers, passport details, dates of birth, contact information and residential addresses of GGMC government officials; corporate director records, internal government decision-making histories; 12,987 mineral license records with precise geospatial coordinates; unreleased government land planning documents including 41 proposed extensions to Amerindian communal lands; more than 1,886 confidential NI 43-101 technical mining reports; and full backups of multiple corporate and government SQL databases.

    Despite the hacker group’s dramatic claims, Guyanese government authorities have repeatedly emphasized that none of the data FULCRUMSEC holds qualifies as sensitive or proprietary. All mining tenure data the group claims to have stolen is already freely accessible to the public via the interactive mineral tenure map hosted on the official GGMC website, the official confirmed, and all data tied to Prospector consists of information already disclosed in public corporate filings and press releases. The official added that the extortion group has simply repackaged existing public information to manufacture the appearance of a high-stakes data breach for extortion purposes.

  • Dominican shipping sector rules out disruptions despite higher freight rates

    Dominican shipping sector rules out disruptions despite higher freight rates

    In a recent public statement addressing growing concerns over rising shipping costs, the Dominican Republic Shipping Association (ANRD) has pushed back against speculation that local operational disruptions are driving recent maritime freight rate increases, instead attributing the jump to broader global logistics and economic forces.

    The industry group confirmed that freight rates have climbed roughly 25% over the past several weeks, a noticeable jump that has drawn attention from importers, exporters, and domestic supply chain stakeholders across the island nation. However, ANRD emphasized that current rates are still far lower than the all-time peak recorded in 2024, when global shipping costs hit unprecedented levels that far outpace today’s adjustments. Benchmark global metrics, including the widely tracked World Container Index, continue to reflect that overall freight costs remain well below the 2024 peak, the organization added.

    According to ANRD’s analysis, the primary catalysts for the current rate increase are two interconnected global challenges: steadily climbing fuel prices and escalating geopolitical tensions that have roiled international trade flows across the globe. Beyond these two key factors, the association noted that all freight rate fluctuations stem from systemic market dynamics rather than unilateral decisions by domestic shipping players. These broader forces include shifting global supply and demand balances, rising vessel operating expenditures, increasing maritime insurance premiums, and evolving international environmental regulations that add compliance costs for shipping lines.

    A key point of reassurance from ANRD centers on the stability of the Dominican Republic’s maritime supply network. The organization stressed that the country’s core trade routes, which connect it to major North American, European, and Latin American markets, do not pass through the world’s most geopolitically tense hotspots. This geographic positioning has protected the Dominican Republic from widespread shipping disruptions that have plagued other regions, with no reported interruptions to logistics operations or restricted access to imported goods to date.

    While the impact has so far been limited to incremental cost adjustments, ANRD has called for ongoing proactive monitoring of global market conditions and strengthened cross-sector coordination across the entire domestic logistics chain. These measures, the group argues, will help stakeholders anticipate emerging risks, mitigate unexpected cost spikes, and preserve consistent supply chain stability for the Dominican Republic’s economy.

  • 396 kilos of cocaine found on boat in SVG

    396 kilos of cocaine found on boat in SVG

    Authorities in the Caribbean island nation of St. Vincent and the Grenadines have placed two individuals in custody as part of an ongoing probe into a major narcotics bust uncovered earlier this week. The seizure, which unfolded on Monday, netted a total of 396 kilograms of cocaine, one of the more substantial drug hauls recovered in the region in recent months.

    Local independent outlet iWitness News has confirmed from credible internal sources that the illicit contraband was discovered aboard a marine vessel intercepted by law enforcement. Despite multiple requests for comment, members of the police force have declined to release additional operational details, keeping all strategic information closely held as the investigation progresses.

    Preliminary identification of the two detainees confirms one is a citizen of Grenada and the other holds Venezuelan nationality. Sources close to the case have refused to expand on details including the intended destination of the cocaine, the ownership of the intercepted vessel, or any potential links to larger transnational drug trafficking organizations, noting that premature disclosure could undermine ongoing investigative work and derail efforts to take down connected criminal networks.

  • Prophetess killed during attack by mentally ill man

    Prophetess killed during attack by mentally ill man

    A violent fatal attack in the quiet community of Diamond, St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG), has thrown a long-simmering public health and safety crisis into the national spotlight. On Tuesday afternoon, 60-year-old Roseclair Williams—a well-known prophetess affiliated with the Victory Kingdom Covenant Ministries Int’l based in Diamond—was killed in her own yard. Her body was discovered shortly after 1 p.m., bearing clear signs of multiple stab wounds, launching an immediate police investigation.

    Authorities reviewing closed-circuit security footage from the surrounding area confirmed the suspect attacked Williams while she tended to plants in her private garden. Law enforcement has since identified the accused as Branson Prince, a local man with a documented history of mental illness, who has been taken into custody. Prince is currently receiving mandatory health assessments at a local medical facility, as authorities work to process the case through the SVG judicial system.

    This killing marks the 14th homicide recorded in SVG since the start of the year. What makes this case particularly resonant is its timing: it came on the same day that Chief Magistrate Colin John delivered a landmark ruling rejecting a mental competency report prepared for another high-profile accused person with mental illness. The judge ruled the document inadmissible because it had been prepared by a non-qualified clinician.

    The question of mental health assessment competency in SVG emerged into public view on Thursday, when defense attorney Grant Connell challenged the professional qualifications of three clinicians from the country’s Mental Health Rehabilitation Centre (MHC), located in Glen. Connell is providing pro bono legal representation for Kesroy Williams, a Belair resident with a diagnosed schizophrenic condition who faces a second set of firearms charges in 18 months. Kesroy Williams is accused of illegally possessing a modified .32-caliber firearm and three matching rounds of ammunition during a February 6 search of his home.

    In court this week, the three MHC clinicians—Dr. Alisa Alvis, Dr. Micheal Stowe, and Dr. Franklyn Joseph—confirmed publicly that none hold credentials as qualified psychiatrists. Alvis further clarified that while she holds a PhD in psychology, she is not a licensed clinical physician authorized to prescribe psychiatric medication. Connell also told the court that all competency reports issued by the MHC shared nearly identical language, even when prepared for patients with drastically different mental health profiles, raising serious questions about the credibility of the country’s current assessment system.

    This is not the first time Kesroy Williams has faced legal consequences for illegal weapons possession. In December 2024, he pleaded guilty to possessing a .38-caliber pistol and three rounds of ammunition, and was sentenced to prison. That guilty plea was only accepted by the court after the MHC issued a report confirming he was mentally fit to enter a plea. During that 2024 proceeding, court documents revealed Kesroy Williams told arresting officers he owned two firearms: “one for a wedding” and “one for a funeral,” and only agreed to surrender one weapon after officers promised to return it to him following the case. When he was sentenced, he even asked the court to confirm the gun would be returned to him once his sentence was completed.

    Following this week’s inadmissible ruling, Chief Magistrate John ordered that Kesroy Williams be transferred back to the MHC for a new assessment conducted by a qualified psychiatrist, with a full report due to the court ahead of his next hearing scheduled for May 30. Beyond the immediate case, the proceeding has pulled back the curtain on a decades-long gap in SVG’s mental health system: the country has gone more than 10 years without a full-time, practicing psychiatrist on staff, leaving a critical gap in mental healthcare and judicial competency assessments across the country.

  • Central Bank Clarifies Role in Bank’s Savings-to-Checking Reclassification

    Central Bank Clarifies Role in Bank’s Savings-to-Checking Reclassification

    In a recent public clarification that has stirred concern among thousands of banking customers across Belize, the Central Bank of Belize has distanced itself from sweeping changes rolled out by two of the nation’s largest commercial lenders – Belize Bank Limited and Atlantic Bank Limited. The reforms, which reclassified existing basic savings accounts into two new tiers labeled “Full Access” and “Essential”, eliminated interest earnings on salary deposits and introduced new monthly maintenance and transaction fees, converting what were once interest-bearing savings products into checking-like accounts with associated costs.

    The changes, implemented several weeks prior to the central bank’s statement, have disproportionately impacted working account holders who relied on their basic savings accounts to receive regular wage deposits. Under the new structure, affected customers now face a monthly maintenance fee of roughly 1.5 Belize dollars, plus teller withdrawal fees that can reach up to 4 Belize dollars per transaction, with no interest accrued on their account balances. Thousands of households across the country have seen their small but steady interest earnings disappear overnight, with many unaware the changes did not receive formal regulatory sign-off.

    Central Bank Governor Kareem Michael made the regulator’s position clear in an official statement released April 21, 2026: “There was no approval sought for Atlantic Bank or any other bank to have done that.” Michael further outlined the scope of the central bank’s regulatory authority, explaining that the institution’s mandate is limited to setting binding caps and floors on interest rates across the banking sector, not pre-approving new account structures or product offerings from commercial institutions.

    Amid the ongoing fallout from the unexpected reclassification, Governor Michael noted that the central bank is currently engaged in active discussions with Belize’s commercial banking sector to address the public’s concerns. The regulator is also working through a broader package of financial sector reforms, including the development of new financial consumer protection legislation and the rollout of a formal national credit reporting system – changes intended to strengthen safeguards for banking customers moving forward. The talks are focused on striking a functional balance between supporting the expansion of digital banking services, covering banks’ operational costs through reasonable fees, and protecting consumers from unfair, unexpected changes to their account terms.

  • Smith Defends Party Switch as Necessary for ‘Delivery’ in All Saints West

    Smith Defends Party Switch as Necessary for ‘Delivery’ in All Saints West

    In a recent press briefing addressing growing public scrutiny over his sudden party affiliation change, representative candidate Smith for the All Saints West constituency has doubled down on his decision, framing the switch as an unavoidable step to better serve local residents.

    Smith explained that his previous party had failed to prioritize the key infrastructure, social service, and economic development projects that top the list of concerns for All Saints West voters. Deadlocked internal negotiations and misaligned policy priorities, he claimed, had left critical initiatives stuck in limbo for years, leaving constituents without the tangible progress they were promised.

    “I did not make this choice lightly,” Smith told reporters gathered at the constituency’s central community hall. “Switching parties was never about personal gain or political opportunism. It was about cutting through the gridlock to get things done for the people who put their trust in me. For too long, our community’s needs have been sidelined for party-centric interests, and that ends now. This move is purely about delivery—delivering better roads, improved healthcare access, and more job opportunities for every household across All Saints West.”

    Local political analysts note that the party switch has shifted the competitive landscape for the upcoming constituency election, with both the outgoing and new party of Smith adjusting their campaign strategies to account for the change. While opposition critics have blasted the move as a self-serving power grab that signals political instability, Smith’s supporters have argued that the decision reflects a rare commitment to putting constituents above party loyalty.

  • Private Bus Operators Get New Deal with GOB

    Private Bus Operators Get New Deal with GOB

    In a development that brings resolution to a longstanding dispute between the Government of Belize (GOB) and private bus operators, Cabinet has approved a new tiered mileage-based fare system to address industry calls for fairer operating conditions, following threats of a total service shutdown last month. The reform comes in direct response to a years-long advocacy campaign from the Belize Bus Association (BBA), which pushed for regulatory changes to correct what they have framed as an unequal playing field for private operators against state-owned services.\n\nTransport Minister Dr. Louis Zabaneh confirmed the three-tier structure to local outlet News 5, outlining clear fare levels and eligibility requirements for each service category. Under the approved framework, standard regular bus routes will be capped at $0.18 per mile, faster express services will carry a rate of $0.20 per mile, and a newly created premium service tier will be set at $0.22 per mile.\n\nUnlike the existing fare structure that offers little differentiation between service quality levels, the new premium tier comes with binding operational standards to justify the higher rate. To qualify for the premium classification, operators must run vehicles no older than seven years, install ergonomic bucket seating, and offer on-board Wi-Fi connectivity. These premium services will also be restricted to inter-municipal runs and high-traffic, high-demand routes, aligning with commuter needs for faster, more comfortable travel between population centers.\n\nDr. Zabaneh noted that government officials have already communicated the framework verbally to BBA leadership, with formal written negotiations set to wrap up within the coming week. Final adjustments will include rounding all final fare amounts to the nearest $0.25 for passenger convenience, and a full collaborative mapping of all route stops that will include input from both private operators and the state-run National Bus Company (NBC).\n\nThe policy breakthrough comes after a period of escalating tension: the BBA recently threatened to suspend all intercity service over skyrocketing fuel costs that have squeezed operator margins, alongside longstanding complaints that existing pay and fare structures are structurally unfair, leaving many private operators operating consistently at a loss. The new fare system applies exclusively to intercity highway routes, which make up the majority of cross-country commuter corridors in the country.\n\n“ we have agreed with the president of the BBA that we will make sure we work closely with them and with the NBC to ensure that all those stops are incorporated properly,” Dr. Zabaneh added, emphasizing the government’s commitment to a collaborative final rollout.\n\nFor BBA leadership, the announcement marks a milestone in a nearly 20-year fight for equitable regulation. BBA President Phillip Jones told News 5 that the association has been lobbying successive governments to level the playing field and establish equal operating conditions for all public bus operators across the country, dating back to the early 2000s.

  • Simons brengt begin juni officieel bezoek aan Dominicaanse Republiek

    Simons brengt begin juni officieel bezoek aan Dominicaanse Republiek

    Suriname and the Dominican Republic are moving forward with plans to deepen their bilateral ties, with a high-stakes presidential visit scheduled for early June to formalize new collaborative agreements. Suriname’s President Jennifer Simons will travel to the Dominican Republic on June 1 and 2 to hold official talks with her Dominican counterpart President Luis Abinader, marking a key milestone in the growing relationship between the two Caribbean nations.

    To lay the groundwork for the presidential summit, Suriname’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Cooperation Melvin Bouva already held a series of preparatory working meetings in the Dominican Republic. During these discussions, the two sides signed a joint declaration that outlines a shared commitment to expanded partnership, with core priorities centered on three key sectors: economic development, tourism expansion, and bilateral trade.

    In remarks following the signing, Minister Bouva emphasized that the Dominican Republic opens substantial new opportunities for Suriname’s economic growth, particularly in the tourism and export segments. Suriname has set a clear goal of boosting international visitor arrivals to the country, and closer collaboration with the Dominican Republic — a major regional tourism hub — is expected to help Suriname tap into larger tourist flows. Additionally, Suriname is positioning itself to expand access to the Dominican market for key domestic agricultural exports, including corn, soybeans and cacao.

    Beyond bilateral ties, the two countries are also prioritizing closer regional collaboration to address shared Caribbean challenges, especially around energy stability and food security. Dominican Republic has been identified as a critical strategic partner for Suriname as it works to advance these regional cooperation goals, creating a framework for mutual benefit that extends beyond traditional trade and economic links.