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  • Tropical Storm Dolly Poses Very Low Wind and Rainfall Risk to Antigua and Barbuda

    Tropical Storm Dolly Poses Very Low Wind and Rainfall Risk to Antigua and Barbuda

    The Antigua and Barbuda Meteorological Service has issued an updated tropical cyclone information statement Thursday afternoon, confirming that former tropical disturbance AL96 has officially strengthened into Tropical Storm Dolly. As of 3:00 p.m. Eastern Caribbean Time (ECT) on August 27, 2026, the newly named storm is currently churning across the central waters of the tropical North Atlantic, and forecasters project it will almost certainly break apart before it can reach the island chains of the Eastern Caribbean.

    According to the official forecast released by the service, Dolly is on track to dissipate within 48 hours, roughly 300 miles east of Antigua and Barbuda by Saturday. Even in the most pessimistic reasonable worst-case scenario outlined by meteorologists, the system would only reach the islands as a weak, minimal tropical storm. At this stage, the risk of damaging wind impacts and disruptive heavy rainfall from Dolly across the region remains very low, and officials have not called for any immediate emergency preparatory action from residents. Moderate risk of elevated, potentially hazardous ocean swells does remain in place, however, and coastal communities have been advised to stay alert to changing conditions.

    Residents across the Leeward Islands and British Virgin Islands are encouraged to continue monitoring official updates for any shifts in the storm’s track or intensity. Forecasters also used the update to remind the public that the Atlantic hurricane season is still ongoing, and all households in hurricane-prone areas should maintain baseline preparedness to respond to future systems.

    Meteorological data pegged Dolly’s center at approximately 1,550 miles east-southeast of Antigua and Barbuda and the broader Leeward Islands as of 11:00 a.m. ECT (1500 UTC) Thursday. The storm is currently tracking westward at a forward speed of roughly 24 miles per hour, with maximum sustained winds clocked at near 40 miles per hour – the minimum threshold for classification as a tropical storm. Over the coming 48 hours, forecasters expect little significant change in Dolly’s strength, before the system degenerates into a disorganized tropical wave well before it can reach the Leeward Islands, which would put its closest approach sometime between Saturday and Sunday.

    As of the publication of this statement, no tropical cyclone watches, warnings, or alerts are currently in effect for any part of the monitored region. Officials noted that an update to alert status could be required later Thursday if conditions change unexpectedly. The next scheduled public update from the Antigua and Barbuda Meteorological Service is set for approximately 2:00 p.m. local time Friday, with an earlier release planned if urgent changes to the forecast emerge. The statement was issued by lead forecaster Dale Destin.

  • CDEMA Regional Recovery Experts Roster to strengthen Caribbean recovery

    CDEMA Regional Recovery Experts Roster to strengthen Caribbean recovery

    The Caribbean region, long vulnerable to frequent climate and natural disasters that disrupt communities and slow development, has taken a major step forward in strengthening collective post-disaster recovery capacity. The Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) has formally launched the Recovery Experts Roster under its Caribbean Resilient Recovery Facility (CRRF), a specialized regional talent pool crafted to empower member states to deliver more effective, timely post-disaster reconstruction and recovery programs.

    On August 26, CDEMA held the first official orientation session for the roster’s inaugural cohort of 14 technical professionals. This launch marks a key milestone in rolling out the CRRF, a multi-stakeholder collaboration led by CDEMA alongside its global development partners. The initiative was designed to address a longstanding gap in the region’s disaster management ecosystem: the disconnect between immediate emergency response and structured early recovery, which often delays reconstruction and prolongs community hardship after major events.

    Beyond core capacity building, the roster is built to provide on-demand surge support to disaster-hit nations across a diverse range of critical sectors. Covered areas of expertise include civil engineering, education system recovery, social work, mental health psychology, small and medium business development, information technology for disaster coordination, and public healthcare recovery, ensuring affected countries can access specialized skills that may not be available domestically.

    Opening the orientation, CDEMA Deputy Executive Director Lt. Col. Kester Craig underscored the non-negotiable role of regional cooperation in boosting collective recovery capacity. “No single country in our region has all the resources needed to respond to and effectively recover from major disaster impacts,” Craig noted, pointing to the frequent scale of hurricane and storm damage that outstrips individual national resource capacities across the Caribbean.

    Craig added that the centralized roster will allow CDEMA to rapidly match specialized expertise to the unique recovery needs of each affected country, eliminating coordination gaps and ensuring recovery efforts are aligned with local needs, inclusive of marginalized communities, and responsive to evolving on-ground conditions.

    The inaugural session was led by CDEMA Disaster Recovery Specialist Jason Francis and CRRF Research Intern Natalia Extavour. During the orientation, the new experts received comprehensive briefings on the CRRF’s operational framework, clear definitions of their roles and responsibilities during deployments, and CDEMA’s standardized deployment protocols and humanitarian action benchmarks to ensure consistent, high-quality support across all missions.

    Francis framed the first cohort as a foundational step in building out the full regional recovery facility, and extended gratitude to the participating experts for their commitment to advancing regional resilience. “This is the first cohort of experts to join the roster, and we look forward to utilising your skills and expertise as we continue to build out the regional recovery facility,” Francis said.

    Officials from CDEMA emphasized that the launch of the Recovery Experts Roster reinforces the agency’s core long-term commitment: pooling shared regional resources, strengthening individual national recovery capacities, and advancing the goal of climate-resilient recovery across every Caribbean nation. The agency plans to expand the roster over time to add more specialized skills and increase surge capacity for large-scale disasters that impact multiple countries simultaneously.

  • Alphonse preps for Cycling Worlds

    Alphonse preps for Cycling Worlds

    The Saint Lucia Cycling Association (SLCA) has wrapped up a dynamic summer of progress, advancing two key pillars of the island nation’s cycling growth: nurturing young local talent and supporting elite competitive aspirations, as the country’s top young cyclist gears up for a major global stage next month.

    Nineteen-year-old Denver Alphonse Jr., the current reigning national cycling champion hailing from La Caye, Dennery, is halfway through a rigorous six-week elite training block at the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) Continental Development Satellite Centre based in Bromont, Canada. The rising star is fine-tuning his form ahead of the upcoming UCI Road World Championships, scheduled to take place in Montreal from September 20 to 27.

    Alphonse’s 2026 competitive season has already marked a series of historic milestones for Saint Lucia cycling. In June, he secured a clean sweep of national titles, taking home first place in both the elite road race and individual time trial events. This victory adds to his 2025 national road championship crown, cementing his status as the country’s most promising young cycling talent.

    Riding for the Martinique-based team ASC Karaïbes Culture Sports (KCS), Alphonse earned a spot on the Under-23 podium at the Grand Prix Mill€co.Shop earlier this year, and went on to represent Saint Lucia at the Pan American Championships hosted in Colombia. He also competed at the 2025 UCI Road World Championships in Rwanda, becoming the first Saint Lucian cyclist in history to have his national team jersey added to the permanent collection of Belgium’s KOERS Museum of Cycling, a landmark recognition for the island nation’s small but growing cycling community.

    During his current training stint in Bromont, Alphonse trains alongside experienced French cyclist Benjamin Payen, under the continued guidance of his long-time coach Alex Noreskal. Alphonse and Noreskal have previously worked together alongside Payen during training and regional competitions in Martinique with KCS.

    While the elite rider chases global success abroad, the SLCA has been building the sport’s future at home. The association recently concluded a week-long youth development summer camp in Vieux Fort, bringing together 20 young riders from three local primary schools — Plain View Combined School, Vieux Fort Primary, and Augier Combined — for hands-on instruction led by experienced coach Leo Serieux.

    The camp was designed to introduce young participants to the fundamentals of competitive and recreational cycling, covering core topics including cycling theory, sports nutrition, basic exercise physiology, road safety rules, and introductory race preparation strategies. At the camp’s closing ceremony, Danny Butcher, Member of Parliament for Vieux Fort South, awarded completion certificates to all participating young riders to mark their achievement.

    The dual focus on elite international competition and grassroots youth development this summer reflects the SLCA’s long-term strategy to grow cycling across Saint Lucia, creating pathways for new talent to emerge and compete at the highest global levels.

  • Grenada highlights offshore energy potential at IMAGE 2026 Conference

    Grenada highlights offshore energy potential at IMAGE 2026 Conference

    Grenada’s Hydrocarbons Technical Working Group has wrapped up a successful mission at the 2026 International Meeting for Applied Geosciences and Energy (IMAGE), held in Houston, Texas — one of the world’s most influential industry gatherings for energy geoscience professionals.

    During the conference, the Caribbean nation’s delegation leveraged the high-profile platform to host a targeted investor roadshow, reaching out to leading international oil and gas companies to highlight the country’s largely untapped offshore hydrocarbon potential and drum up support for its first-ever licensing round, scheduled to launch in 2027. At Grenada’s dedicated exhibition booth, team members held one-on-one discussions with prospective investors, industry partners, and leading geoscientists, walking attendees through newly completed technical assessments and walking them through the scope of the country’s untapped energy resources.

    The IMAGE 2026 participation delivered five key strategic wins for Grenada’s energy development ambitions. First, it granted the small island nation unmatched direct access to a global audience of major upstream operators and energy investors, putting its untapped offshore potential in front of the industry’s key decision-makers at a single premier event. Second, the delegation’s on-site engagement generated significant technical and commercial interest from attendees, who validated Grenada’s updated subsurface geological models, regional prospectivity analyses, and comparative geological studies through in-depth expert discussions. Third, the conference appearance successfully built pre-launch buzz for the upcoming 2027 licensing round, which will put seven offshore areas up for bidding: six fully defined exploration blocks and one open acreage area. Fourth, the event created a valuable space for technical knowledge exchange, with Grenada’s team sharing its latest evaluations of high-resolution 2D seismic basin data with global experts, highlighting confirmed active hydrocarbon indicators and global geological analogues that demonstrate the commercial viability of the country’s resources.

    For industry attendees, the conference appearance clarified key details about what Grenada is bringing to the table for the 2027 round. The total offshore acreage on offer covers approximately 28,600 square kilometers across the geological Grenada Basin and Tobago Trough, with water depths ranging from 180 meters to 3,000 meters, spread across the six defined blocks and one open exploration area.

    Geographically, Grenada’s offshore blocks are strategically located adjacent to already prolific producing basins controlled by major regional energy producers including Trinidad & Tobago, Venezuela, Guyana, and Suriname. Despite this favorable geological position, the area remains drastically underexplored: to date, only one exploratory well has been drilled in Grenada’s offshore territory, leaving up to 12 kilometers of sedimentary geological section untested for commercial hydrocarbon reserves.

    The technical data presented for the first time at IMAGE 2026 draws on a robust, newly compiled seismic database that combines two major multi-client 2D seismic surveys: 6,979 kilometers of CAMDI 2D seismic data collected by Geoex MCG, and approximately 710 kilometers of CARIBE SPAN 2D seismic data acquired by industry leader TGS.

    Advanced interpretations of this new seismic data have confirmed multiple promising prospective play types across geological intervals from the Upper Eocene to Upper Pliocene eras. These include high-potential structures such as deepwater turbidite channels, fan complexes, large transpressional anticlines, and structural closures. Clear Direct Hydrocarbon Indicators (DHIs), including distinctive bright seismic amplitudes and gas chimneys, confirm the presence of an active hydrocarbon system in the basin.

    To contextualize the resource potential, Grenada’s technical team conducted global analogue benchmarking against 937 producing hydrocarbon fields with matching geological settings around the world. The analysis confirms that individual accumulations in Grenada’s basins could hold up to 3.2 billion barrels of oil equivalent of in-place resources, marking a major potential upside for successful explorers.

    This report was issued via the Office of the Prime Minister of Grenada. NOW Grenada does not take responsibility for the content or opinions shared by contributing authors.

  • Politie bezorgd over drugs, alcohol en geweld onder jongeren

    Politie bezorgd over drugs, alcohol en geweld onder jongeren

    Suriname’s national police force has issued an urgent warning over a sharp rise in harmful and dangerous behavior among the country’s young people, with issues ranging from substance abuse to violent viral social media trends increasingly demanding law enforcement attention.

    Speaking at a press briefing with senior police leadership on Wednesday, Commissioner Ishita Hunte, head of the Suriname Police Service’s (KPS) Serious Crime Combat Division (BZC), stressed that the growing youth problem requires urgent collective attention from across society.

    One particularly alarming trend Hunte highlighted is the viral “Guess Who Slapped Me Challenge,” a harmful social media trend that forces a blindfolded young person to be hit by other participants, then guess which person delivered the blow. The dangerous stunt has already led to multiple incidents requiring police intervention, according to Hunte.

    With the summer holiday period in full swing, Hunte issued a direct warning to parents: children have far more unstructured free time while many working parents are unable to provide constant supervision, making it critical for caregivers to stay informed about what activities their children are engaging in, both online and offline.

    Beyond viral dangerous challenges, KPS has documented clear upward trends in underage alcohol and drug consumption across the country. Local schools have repeatedly reached out to police to request educational outreach addressing pervasive bullying, grooming, and other harmful interpersonal behaviors among students. During routine bag checks at school campuses, officers have also recovered a growing number of dangerous weapons and prohibited items in recent months.

    To counter these developments, the Suriname Police Service has ramped up community outreach and educational initiatives designed to help young people understand the serious short- and long-term risks of substance abuse and behaviors that cross legal and social boundaries.

    However, senior police leadership emphasized that the root of the youth crisis cannot be addressed by law enforcement and judicial authorities alone. Problematic and criminal behavior among young people often stems from deeper, unaddressed societal issues that require coordinated intervention from multiple sectors.

    Police officials stressed at the briefing that a connected, whole-of-society “chain approach” that brings in other public institutions, community organizations, schools, and families is essential to turning the tide. “We cannot solve this crisis with only police and judicial action,” leadership reiterated during the event.

  • Ministry of Health urges vigilance amid increase in dengue cases

    Ministry of Health urges vigilance amid increase in dengue cases

    Public health officials in Grenada are sounding an alarm over a sudden, significant uptick in dengue fever cases, with new data showing a nearly four-fold jump in infections over a single week. According to the country’s Ministry of Health, the upward trend in transmissions became evident during the 2026 epidemiological monitoring period, with 23 new confirmed and suspected cases recorded between August 16 and August 22, 2026 — corresponding to Epidemiological Week 33. This marks a sharp increase from the six cases reported in the prior week.

    Demographic breakdowns of the new infections show that working-age adults make up the majority of affected people. The 25 to 44-year age group accounted for 15 of the 23 new cases, while people between 15 and 24 years old recorded five additional infections. Most of the recent cases presented for care at two major Grenadian healthcare facilities: 11 cases were treated at the General Hospital, and six more were reported at Princess Royal Hospital, with four of all reported cases receiving formal laboratory confirmation.

    Health authorities emphasize that this unexpected surge signals a growing, unaddressed risk of dengue transmission across the island nation. Dengue, a potentially serious viral illness, is spread exclusively through bites from infected Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, a species that commonly breeds in small pools of stagnant water found around residential properties and community spaces.

    In direct response to the rising case counts, the Ministry of Health has announced it is expanding integrated mosquito vector management operations across high-risk areas. Senior health officials say they are maintaining continuous vigilance, updating real-time monitoring of transmission trends to adjust public health interventions as needed.

    “ This week’s increase serves as a clear reminder that the risk of dengue infection remains present in our communities, ” a ministry spokesperson stated. “ Every individual and household has a critical role to play in prevention by cutting off mosquito breeding sites and taking personal steps to avoid bites. ”

    Following the case surge, the ministry has issued a formal set of public guidelines for all Grenadian residents to reduce their risk of infection. Officials are urging households to drain all standing water from common breeding spots including unused containers, discarded tires, and clogged drains; securely cover all residential water storage tanks and dispose of solid waste properly; use registered mosquito repellents and opt for long-sleeved garments when spending time outdoors; and seek immediate medical attention if they develop common dengue symptoms including high fever, headache, muscle and joint pain, or skin rashes.

    Alongside the dengue update, the Ministry of Health also released its full weekly epidemiological report covering other common communicable illnesses across the country. Respiratory infections remained the most widespread illness, with 90 new cases recorded in the week. Gastroenteritis also saw a concerning rise, particularly among adult populations, with 70 new cases reported. Other less common conditions detected during the monitoring week included eight cases of food poisoning, four cases of conjunctivitis, and single isolated cases of tuberculosis, pneumonia, and chickenpox.

    This public health update was released by the Ministry of Health, with content disclaimer information provided by the publishing outlet NOW Grenada.

  • Final week for EPIC’s Caribbean Photography Contest

    Final week for EPIC’s Caribbean Photography Contest

    Regional photographers across the Caribbean basin have just days left to submit their work to the second annual Seas & Scenes: Love the Caribbean Photo Contest, a community-focused initiative hosted by non-profit environmental group Environmental Protection in the Caribbean (EPIC) in collaboration with Caribbean Compass magazine. The entry deadline closes at the end of August 31, 2026, giving shutterbugs just a short window to finalize their submissions.

  • Saint Lucia posts six-year CSEC high, but more than half fail Maths

    Saint Lucia posts six-year CSEC high, but more than half fail Maths

    On Thursday, Saint Lucia’s Ministry of Education officially released 2026 results for two key regional secondary education assessments — the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) and the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) — revealing a mixed picture of educational progress that balances historic gains against ongoing systemic challenges.

    For the CSEC, the standardized exam taken by secondary school students across the Caribbean region, Saint Lucia posted its strongest overall performance in six years. The nation logged 12,218 total subject entries this year, with an overall pass rate of 78.93% — a full 6.75 percentage points above the 72.18% regional average, marking a clear step forward for the island nation’s secondary education sector.

    Multiple subject areas delivered standout results that underscore strengths in vocational, technical and humanities education. Every single candidate who sat Agricultural Science (Double Award), Industrial Technology (Mechanical), Physical Education and Sport, and Religious Education earned a passing grade. An additional eight subjects — Food, Nutrition and Health; Theatre Arts; Industrial Technology (Electrical); Technical Drawing; Biology; Industrial Technology (Building); Agricultural Science (Single Award); and Additional Mathematics — all posted pass rates between 90% and 99%, highlighting consistent strong performance in these specialized fields.

    Despite these broad gains, the results are not uniformly positive. Performance declined in 14 individual subject areas, with Music, Caribbean History and Additional Mathematics recording the steepest drops in pass rates from 2025. Most notably, Mathematics remains the most persistent and pressing obstacle for Saint Lucian CSEC candidates. Even with a 4.66 percentage point improvement in pass rates year-over-year, only 46.81% of test-takers earned a passing grade in 2026 — meaning more than half of all candidates failed the core subject. The Ministry of Education has formally identified Mathematics as “the single largest concern” in this year’s results, noting the subject accounted for more failing grades than any other assessment in 2026.

    Results for the CAPE, the advanced secondary credential for students pursuing post-secondary education, painted a far more positive picture overall. A total of 351 candidates across just two institutions — Sir Arthur Lewis Community College (SALCC) and Vieux Fort Comprehensive Secondary School Campus B (VFCSS) — sat CAPE exams this year, and Saint Lucia notched an overall national pass rate of 96.82%. Between the two participating schools, VFCSS maintained a slight edge over SALCC with a 97.34% pass rate, though that figure represents a small dip from VFCSS’s 98.89% pass rate in 2025. By contrast, SALCC improved on its 2025 performance, lifting its pass rate from 94.77% to 96.34% this year.

    A notable shift also occurred in gender-based performance at the CAPE level. Last year, male candidates outperformed their female peers, but that dynamic flipped in 2026: female candidates posted an overall pass rate of 97%, surpassing the 95% pass rate recorded by male candidates.

    When aggregated, the 2026 results confirm that Saint Lucia has made measurable progress in secondary education over the past half-decade, with the nation now outperforming the Caribbean regional average in the vast majority of tested subjects. Education officials will now turn their attention to addressing the persistent underperformance in Mathematics, while building on the strong results recorded in technical, vocational and advanced placement programs across the country.

  • USA pauses immigrant visa processing worldwide

    USA pauses immigrant visa processing worldwide

    A temporary hold on worldwide immigrant visa processing from the U.S. State Department is reshaping application timelines for prospective permanent migrants, including those from Caribbean nations like Grenada, just weeks after a federal judge struck down a controversial Trump-administration policy that barred immigrant visa issuance for citizens of 75 countries.

    The State Department confirmed it rolled out a global training program for consular staff in early August, focused on updated protocols for the so-called “public charge” assessment that determines whether visa applicants are likely to rely on public assistance after entering the U.S. To free up staff time for mandatory training, routine immigrant visa interview appointments have been rescheduled across all U.S. embassies and consulates, with the pause expected to last through mid-September. Temporary non-immigrant visas, such as those for tourism or business travel, remain unaffected by this adjustment.

    U.S. immigration law already requires consular officers to weigh multiple factors when evaluating public charge status, including an applicant’s age, health, family composition, financial assets, education, and professional skills. The Associated Press, quoting an anonymous State Department official not authorized to speak on the record, confirmed that all applicants with pre-scheduled interviews have already received notifications of their rescheduled dates.

    This administrative shift comes on the heels of a major court ruling handed down on August 21. U.S. District Judge Jeannette A. Vargas, of the Southern District of New York, vacated the Trump administration’s 2020s policy that suspended immigrant visa issuance for nationals of 75 countries, among them Grenada. In her ruling, Judge Vargas found the policy exceeded the statutory authority granted to the Secretary of State and violated existing U.S. immigration law, noting it wrongfully required consular officers to reject otherwise qualified applicants solely based on their country of origin.

    The overturned policy was part of a broader push by the first Trump administration to tighten U.S. immigration rules and expand entry screening. Several of the administration’s geographically targeted entry restrictions faced legal challenges, with the U.S. Supreme Court ultimately upholding one prominent travel restriction order in the 2018 *Trump v. Hawaii* ruling.

    For prospective immigrant visa applicants in Grenada and other Caribbean nations, the immediate impact is limited to delayed interview timelines during the training period. The current global training pause is not a new nationality-based ban, unlike the policy recently struck down by the court, and applies uniformly to all immigrant visa applicants regardless of their country of origin.

  • Winair slashes Dominica airfares by 65% for World Creole Music Festival

    Winair slashes Dominica airfares by 65% for World Creole Music Festival

    Ahead of one of the Caribbean’s most anticipated annual cultural celebrations, regional carrier Winair has launched an exclusive limited-time airfare discount scheme to boost visitor turnout for the 2026 World Creole Music Festival, the island’s flagship cultural event set to take place this October.

    Through the new promotion, travelers booking eligible flights to Dominica can unlock a 65 percent discount on their base fares by entering the special promo code WM65YRS at checkout. The reduced fares apply to all travel completed between August 28 and October 31, 2026, aligning with the festival dates and allowing visitors to extend their stay on the island before or after the event. All interested travelers must finalize their bookings by August 27, 2026 to lock in the discount, and standard conditions apply: all relevant taxes and surcharges must be paid separately, and the offer is subject to Winair’s standard passenger terms and fare conditions.

    This year’s edition of the World Creole Music Festival, branded “The Festival That Never Sleeps”, will run as a three-day immersive experience from October 23 to 25 at the Windsor Park Sports Stadium located in Roseau, Dominica’s capital. The festival is a cornerstone event of the island’s annual national Creole Heritage Month, which celebrates the deep shared cultural roots of Creole communities across the globe.

    True to its reputation as a hub for Creole and African diasporic music, the 2026 lineup brings together a diverse roster of performers from four major regions: the broader Caribbean, the French Antilles, continental Africa, and North America. Attendees can expect a dynamic cross-genre musical program spanning beloved regional styles including cadence-lypso, kompa, zouk, bouyon, soukous, reggae, soca, dancehall, and the popular South African amapiano genre. Headlining the star-studded lineup is Grammy Award-winning American R&B singer and songwriter Ne-Yo, one of the most recognizable pop and R&B acts of the 21st century.