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  • Prescod wants more Bajan books in primary schools

    Prescod wants more Bajan books in primary schools

    At a launch event held Wednesday at the Barbados Museum for the national BIM@60 initiative, Trevor Prescod, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office with oversight for Pan African Affairs, has laid out a urgent push to embed locally written Barbadian books into primary and pre-primary education curricula, arguing that culturally rooted storytelling can drive major gains in literacy while nurturing stronger personal connections to language for young learners.

    Prescod emphasized that the island nation must step up support for its homegrown writing community, especially creators focused on developing content for child audiences. He noted that integrating more local texts into secondary and post-secondary education systems faces significant barriers, most notably rigid, exam-mandated reading lists that leave little room for new, local works. To bypass these hurdles, he argued the shift toward culturally relevant reading should start long before students reach higher education levels.

    “So I said let us do it in the primary schools or even in the pre-primary stages,” Prescod stated. The minister stressed his vision for young Barbadians to grow up engaging with stories that reflect their own lived environments, rather than relying on colonial-era foreign characters and narratives that bear no connection to their daily lives. “I don’t want… Flopsy Bunny or any of these characters like that. I want something that is Barbadian. And if you go a little above that, could be Caribbean, but don’t bring anything to me that is influenced by the colonial experience,” he added.

    Following his public call to action, Prescod revealed that local authors have already submitted dozens of locally produced children’s books to him. He plans to present this collection to his ministry as part of a broader advocacy push to secure annual multi-million-dollar government investments to distribute these indigenous texts to primary schools across the country. “I want you… to help me work to persuade the people at the highest level to at least spend some millions every year putting those books within the primary school, and I would bet you that the children have a better understanding, especially of literature and English language in general, just having some of their own material,” Prescod said.

    The push for local children’s literature comes amid ongoing concerns over literacy rates among students who took this year’s Barbados Secondary Schools’ Entrance Examination. In response to these concerns, National Cultural Foundation-supported author Shakirah Bourne has already launched the Bajan Anansi school tour, an initiative designed to foster a love of reading among young people by centering Barbadian cultural narratives.

    Beyond education, BIM@60 is a collaborative campaign organized by the Barbados Museum & Historical Society in partnership with the National Cultural Foundation. The initiative invites public participation to select the 60 most influential songs that have shaped Barbadian national identity in the six decades since the country gained independence. Prescod used the campaign launch to highlight the island’s long legacy of musical excellence, noting that many Barbadian performers have earned global acclaim, demonstrating the massive untapped and existing potential of the country’s cultural industries.

    “We now have excellence in calypso… We also have the regional and global success of Alison Hinds, Edwin Yearwood, Rupee, Lil Rick and other internationally acclaimed musicians, producers and arrangers,” he said. Recalling the unprecedented global impact of Barbadian megastar Rihanna, Prescod shared a personal anecdote: hearing airplane passengers sing one of her hit songs during an international flight drove home just how far Barbadian creative talent resonates across the world. “I recognised how powerful the voice of artists are. But I also recognised how often Barbadian artists and the talent were resonating,” he noted.

    Prescod called on local musicians and cultural practitioners to partner closely with the government and National Cultural Foundation to expand the country’s creative industries over the next 40 years, as Barbados works toward its 100th anniversary of independence. “When we stop at this point, I say 60 years, when we want to go out to 100 years… we should be able to make a difference in the next 40 years ahead as a result of giving all the support to the artists that we can,” he said.

    He added that culture can serve as a powerful tool to address ongoing social and educational challenges, stating: “culture can be the instrument that we can use in order to help bring them back on track. I strongly believe that.” Prescod also emphasized that established, senior artists carry a responsibility to mentor the next generation of Barbadian creatives, noting that both the National Cultural Foundation and his office are committed to supporting these mentorship efforts. “The senior musicians, the artists, they must work with them. National Cultural Foundation will do so. The ministry will do so,” he said.

    In closing, Prescod extended an invitation to all Barbadians to take part in upcoming national Emancipation celebrations, confirming that the Office of Pan African Affairs and Heritage will continue rolling out programming focused on strengthening national identity and building greater public appreciation for Barbados’ unique history and cultural heritage.

  • Één jaar regering-Simons: tussen ambitie en uitvoering

    Één jaar regering-Simons: tussen ambitie en uitvoering

    On July 16, 2025, Jennifer Simons was inaugurated as President of Suriname, opening her term with a clear vision: to steer the country toward long-term economic recovery and inclusive growth. In her inaugural address, she outlined four core pillars of her administration: a new culture of governance, strict fiscal discipline, broad-based economic diversification, and the equitable distribution of future oil revenues to lift all Surinamese communities. One year after she took office, it is an opportune moment to take stock of the Simons administration’s progress, challenges, and unmet promises.

    Simons did not sugarcoat the severe economic headwinds her government would face from the outset. She acknowledged that Suriname entered her term grappling with deep systemic economic vulnerabilities, but held out hope that the nation could emerge stronger if it navigated the early difficult years successfully. That early assessment quickly proved prescient: almost immediately after Simons took office, rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East sent global oil prices soaring. For Suriname, a net fuel import nation, this price shock created immediate downward pressure on inflation and eroded household purchasing power, testing the new administration’s response.

    In March, the government moved swiftly to mitigate the crisis, implementing a temporary fuel price cap and accelerating targeted social support programs for vulnerable groups, public servants, teachers, and pensioners. The policy choice deliberately prioritized social stability, even though it cost the national treasury hundreds of millions of Surinamese dollars in monthly government revenue from energy sales.

    Fiscal discipline was one of Simons’ signature campaign and inaugural pledges, and it is on this front that the administration faces its most significant test to date. As the government ramps up spending on purchasing power protections, public healthcare, and social assistance, both the national budget deficit and Suriname’s total public debt have continued to widen.

    This expansionary fiscal stance is not inherently misguided: many governments opt for temporary increased spending during periods of global economic uncertainty. However, the critical questions now growing louder among analysts and the public are how long this spending window can remain open, and when temporary emergency measures will be scaled back. Greater transparency around the government’s long-term fiscal roadmap has become an increasingly urgent demand.

    Perhaps the most transformative economic promise Simons made was a commitment to end Suriname’s historic overreliance on finite natural resource exports. For decades, the country’s economy depended heavily on bauxite; today, it leans heavily on gold, and is preparing for a major new oil sector. To avoid persistent boom-and-bust cycles, the president pledged to strengthen underdeveloped productive sectors including agriculture and tourism to build a more balanced economy.

    After one year, the administration has established interagency working commissions across multiple target sectors and announced broad policy intentions. But the private sector and civil society organizations are still waiting for detailed, actionable sector-specific plans and concrete production-boosting programs. As the onset of large-scale commercial oil production draws near, the need for a cohesive, well-executed economic diversification strategy has become more pressing than ever.

    One of the most memorable warnings of Simons’ inaugural address centered on avoiding the so-called “resource curse” that has plagued many resource-rich developing nations. She explicitly noted that in other countries, oil wealth has only enriched a small elite, leaving the majority of the population excluded from gains and facing deeper economic instability.

    Over the past year, the administration has prioritized foundational preparations to avoid this outcome: local content requirements to ensure Surinamese workers and businesses benefit from oil development, institutional capacity building, workforce training programs, and targeted international collaboration have all been placed high on the policy agenda. Even so, questions remain over whether Suriname is moving quickly enough to maximize shared benefits from oil production, which is now approaching rapidly.

    Beyond economic reform, Simons campaigned for a fundamental shift in how the country is governed, promising more collaborative, participatory, and decentralized decision-making. To its credit, the administration has repeatedly held structured consultations with trade unions, private sector leaders, civil society groups, and other key stakeholders on major policy decisions.

    Yet criticism persists on the governance front. The growing number of presidential ad hoc commissions, ongoing debates around government transparency, slow progress on anti-corruption enforcement, and the gradual pace of structural reform have led many to question whether the promised systemic change is yet visible enough to the public.

    After 12 months in office, it is still too early to issue a final verdict on the Simons administration. Major transformative reforms across the economy, education, healthcare, and public governance require far more than one year to implement and deliver visible results. That said, the Surinamese public is right to expect that the broad contours of these reforms will become increasingly clear in the months ahead.

    The second year of Simons’ term will almost certainly prove more decisive than the first. The policy focus is set to shift from agenda-setting and planning to tangible implementation, and from stated intentions to measurable results. It will not be the ambition of Simons’ agenda that defines her administration’s legacy, but the concrete, on-the-ground changes it delivers.

    Broad consensus already exists across Suriname’s political and social spectrum that the government has set the right core policy goals. The critical open question today is whether the administration can translate those ambitions into stronger public institutions, more accountable governance, and an economy that is less dependent on temporary commodity windfalls and built on a foundation of sustainable, inclusive development.

    In closing her inaugural address, Simons invoked the words of Surinamese poets Dobru and Shrinivási, centering her vision on national unity, solidarity, and shared collective responsibility. That message remains just as relevant one year on as it was on the day of her inauguration. Sustainable economic recovery, good governance, and long-term development will never depend on government policy alone: they require coordinated action and shared commitment from the public sector, private industry, and civil society alike to shape Suriname’s future together.

    After one year, the ultimate destination Simons outlined on inauguration day remains unchanged. The question facing the country now is no longer where Suriname aims to go, but how quickly the promised policy direction will translate into tangible improvements in daily governance, and what necessary adjustments the president will make to keep the administration on track to deliver for all Surinamese.

  • Credit rating downgrade reflects ULP’s ‘prolonged neglect’

    Credit rating downgrade reflects ULP’s ‘prolonged neglect’

    In the wake of a major credit rating downgrade for St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG), a senior official from the newly elected government has pinned full responsibility for the fiscal decline on the country’s long-ruling previous administration. On June 30, global rating agency Moody’s announced it would lower SVG’s long-term local and foreign-currency issuer ratings from B3 to Caa1, maintain the country’s short-term non-prime ratings for both currencies, and revise the rating outlook from stable to negative.

    Moody’s outlined clear reasoning for the downward adjustment, pointing to intensifying liquidity pressures facing the SVG government, persistently high gross financing requirements, and a rapidly growing national debt that has become unmanageable for a small, undiversified island economy with extremely limited access to alternative financing sources. The agency explained that the country’s outsized financing needs are now constrained by an increasingly narrow, concentrated domestic funding pool, while years of consistent fiscal deficits have pushed the national debt onto a steep upward growth trajectory projected to continue through 2029. This sustained growth, Moody’s noted, has significantly eroded the government’s ability to absorb unexpected economic or natural shocks.

    Chiefain Neptune, Minister of State in the Office of the Prime Minister from the new New Democratic Party (NDP) administration, acknowledged that SVG has weathered a string of severe external shocks over the past six years, including the global COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021 eruption of the La Soufriere volcano, and Hurricane Beryl in July 2024—all of which Moody’s incorporated into its rating assessment. Even so, Neptune emphasized that the downgrade is fundamentally rooted in 25 years of ongoing mismanagement and neglect under the Unity Labour Party (ULP), which held power from March 2001 until the November 2025 general election.

    In that historic election, the ULP suffered a landslide defeat, securing just one of the 15 available parliamentary seats after entering the race holding a 9-6 majority over the NDP. Neptune argued that the scale of the ULP’s loss reflected widespread public frustration with the state of the country when Vincentians cast their ballots. He noted that the previous administration left the nation grappling with sky-high unemployment, the lowest wage levels across the Caribbean, and record-breaking homicide rates.

    “The Vincentian economy was left in ruins due to years of reckless overspending and excessive borrowing, which primarily benefited a small elite rather than fostering genuine development for St. Vincent and the Grenadines,” Neptune stated, adding that the resounding election result saw voters deliver a clear mandate for the NDP to lead the country’s recovery.

    Since taking office, the NDP government has already moved forward with policy measures designed to strengthen economic performance and put more disposable income directly into the hands of ordinary Vincentian citizens. But Neptune said the Moody’s downgrade lays bare the deep, systemic economic weaknesses inherited from the previous regime. “When we stepped into office, we understood that the economy was fragile. What we couldn’t foresee was just how bleak the legacy of neglect from the ULP truly was until we entered the Financial Complex in Kingstown,” he added.

    Neptune reaffirmed the NDP administration’s commitment to restoring fiscal and debt stability while advancing national development, acknowledging that Prime Minister Dr. Godwin Friday and his governing team face a massive task to address the accumulated challenges of decades. He noted that the Moody’s report has highlighted the full scale of the country’s economic difficulties, underscoring the need for a comprehensive, nationwide approach to reverse decades of underinvestment.

    Despite the steep challenges ahead, Neptune emphasized that the NDP took office with a clear public mandate to rebuild the economy, generate new employment opportunities, and create pathways for Vincentians to prosper at home rather than being forced to emigrate in search of work. The government’s recovery strategy is built around four core pillars outlined by Prime Minister Friday: agriculture, tourism, the blue economy, and innovation-driven new economy sectors.

    Neptune pointed to early signs of growing investor confidence in the administration’s plan, highlighting a recently signed memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Global Port Holdings that is expected to unlock new economic opportunities for communities across SVG. “This is just one example of the potential for growth,” he said. “Through disciplined fiscal management and steadfast commitment, the Government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines is determined to turn things around, reversing the neglect of the past and delivering for all Vincentians.”

  • Former PM who drove debt to $3.5b blames new gov’t for downgrade

    Former PM who drove debt to $3.5b blames new gov’t for downgrade

    Eight months after the Unity Labour Party (ULP) lost its 25-year hold on power in St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG), a landmark sovereign credit downgrade has ignited a fierce political dispute over who bears responsibility for the country’s worsening fiscal outlook. The Caribbean nation now holds its lowest-ever credit rating from Moody’s Investors Service, a development that has become the center of a heated public debate between the new ruling New Democratic Party (NDP) and the opposition ULP led by former prime minister Ralph Gonsalves.

    On June 30, Moody’s announced it would cut SVG’s long-term local and foreign-currency issuer ratings from B3 with a stable outlook to Caa1 with a negative outlook. Speaking on his party’s radio program Wednesday, Gonsalves, who now serves as opposition leader, pushed back hard against claims from the incumbent NDP that the downgrade is a direct result of reckless borrowing and fiscal mismanagement during the ULP’s 25-year tenure.

    When the ULP left office after November’s general election, Gonsalves noted, the country carried a public debt load of EC$3.5 billion, with a debt-to-GDP ratio of 113%. But he stressed that Moody’s has been fully aware of this debt burden for years, and maintained SVG’s B3 stable rating through major economic shocks including the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021 eruption of La Soufriere volcano, Hurricane Beryl in 2024, and large-scale infrastructure projects such as the EC$700 million new port in Kingstown. As recently as December 2025, weeks after the NDP’s election victory, Moody’s reaffirmed the B3 stable rating, Gonsalves added, and only flagged that increased market borrowing or limited access to concessional funding could trigger a future downgrade.

    Gonsalves argued the downgrade is entirely a product of the NDP’s policy choices and public rhetoric since taking office, outlining three core policy triggers that he says led to Moody’s decision: a larger-than-expected fiscal deficit and sharp increase in market-based borrowing in the NDP’s first 2026 budget, public discussion of a potential debt swap and repeated framing of the existing debt as “unsustainable”, and the absence of a credible long-term economic growth plan recognized by Moody’s analysts. He added that three of the four factors Moody’s cited for the downgrade — intensifying liquidity pressures, elevated gross financing needs, and debt-swap speculation — directly stem from NDP decisions, while the high underlying debt was already fully priced into previous ratings assessments.

    The opposition leader also defended the ULP’s decades-long borrowing record, noting that most of the debt was taken on as low-interest concessional lending to fund critical public infrastructure including hospitals, schools, roads, climate resilience projects, and disaster recovery, rather than short-term, high-cost domestic borrowing that the NDP has relied on since taking office. He further pointed to a 2024 International Monetary Fund (IMF) Article IV consultation that praised the ULP’s “decisive policy responses” to successive shocks and confirmed the country had achieved a “robust recovery” that supported the stable B3 rating.

    Moody’s new Caa1 rating places SVG firmly in the agency’s “poor quality, very high credit risk” category, a designation Gonsalves warned will have tangible negative consequences for the country: lenders will be far more reluctant to extend new credit, any new borrowing will carry higher interest rates and shorter repayment terms, and concessional development lenders will likely impose stricter policy conditions on future funding. The negative outlook, he added, means Moody’s does not expect any near-term improvement without a dramatic shift in government fiscal policy.

    The NDP has pushed back firmly against Gonsalves’ claims, arguing the downgrade is the direct result of 25 years of fiscal neglect under the ULP. Prime Minister and Finance Minister Godwin Friday, whose party won 14 of 15 parliamentary seats in the November election, has previously noted that the final public debt figure left by the ULP was EC$400 million higher than the incoming administration expected when it took office, and famously characterized ULP pre-election spending as “spending like a drunken sailor”.

    Chiefain Neptune, minister of state in the prime minister’s office, reaffirmed the NDP’s position Wednesday, stating that “the Moody’s report underscores the deep-rooted systemic economic failures left behind by the previous administration. When we stepped into office, we understood that the economy was fragile. What we couldn’t foresee was just how bleak the legacy of neglect from the ULP truly was until we entered the Financial Complex in Kingstown.” Neptune added that the NDP remains committed to restoring fiscal and debt stability, while advancing economic development that directly benefits Vincentian households.

    Notably, Gonsalves’ criticism of the NDP’s public communication around the country’s debt stands in contrast to recent praise from the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), one of SVG’s largest development partners. In June, CDB Vice-President Isaac Solomon commended the NDP administration for its transparency around public finances, saying the government’s willingness to invite external scrutiny and articulate a clear national development vision was a rare and positive step that creates the foundation for effective development support. “That combination of confidence to invite scrutiny, clarity to articulate a vision, and humility to say we cannot do this alone is rarer than it should be. I think it deserves recognition,” Solomon said during a Development Partners Round Table in SVG.

  • St. Kitts and Nevis-flagged cargo ship sinks in Strait of Hormuz, all 23 crew rescued – WIC News

    St. Kitts and Nevis-flagged cargo ship sinks in Strait of Hormuz, all 23 crew rescued – WIC News

    One of the world’s most strategically critical maritime chokepoints, the Strait of Hormuz, has been the site of a new shipping incident that is drawing global attention. An ageing bulk carrier registered to St. Kitts and Nevis, identified as the LUNI (IMO 9070711), broke apart and partially sank off the coast of Iran’s southern port city of Bandar Abbas on Tuesday, July 14, 2026, following sudden, uncontrolled water ingress that caused catastrophic structural failure.

    Built in 1994, the 32-year-old cargo vessel was anchored in the northern stretch of the strait when the hull damage worsened, leading it to split cleanly in two. At the time of the incident, the LUNI was en route to Jebel Ali, the United Arab Emirates’ premier cargo hub. Preliminary investigations from local maritime officials point to a prior collision as the likely root cause of the sinking: the vessel collided with another ship several days before the structural collapse, and the unaddressed damage from that impact is believed to have allowed seawater to flood the hull gradually.

    Thanks to rapid emergency response operations, all 23 crew members on board — all foreign nationals — were evacuated from the foundering vessel before it fully submerged. No injuries or deaths have been reported among the evacuated seafarers, a significant relief amid the incident. After splitting apart, the vessel settled in the shallow waters off Bandar Abbas, with the separated bow and stern sections still partially visible above the water’s surface.

    The sinking has sparked public speculation, in part because it coincided with reports of loud explosions near Bandar Abbas and the nearby Qeshm Island. To date, however, Iranian maritime authorities have not confirmed any link between the reported explosions and the LUNI’s structural failure. Social media has amplified attention on the incident, with multiple user-uploaded videos of the sinking vessel circulating widely across platforms. Many online observers have raised questions demanding more clarity about the exact cause of the catastrophic hull split, particularly given the strait’s long history of geopolitical tensions and targeted maritime incidents.

    The incident also comes shortly after former U.S. President Donald Trump positioned himself as the “Guardian of the Strait of Hormuz,” a political framing that has added an extra layer of public scrutiny to the event. Maritime safety analysts note that the incident underscores the ongoing risks of ageing bulk carriers operating in busy, high-stakes waterways, and highlights the need for rigorous post-collision inspection protocols to prevent avoidable sinkings.

  • Nieuwe peiling toont China en Xi populairder dan de VS en Trump in veel landen

    Nieuwe peiling toont China en Xi populairder dan de VS en Trump in veel landen

    A landmark 2026 global public opinion survey from the Pew Research Center has recorded a historic shift in global attitudes toward major world powers: for the first time in 20 years of tracking, China and its leader President Xi Jinping hold a higher net favorable rating globally than the United States and former President (current officeholder as of 2026) Donald Trump. Researchers link this striking reversal to growing global distrust of the U.S. driven by controversial foreign policy moves of the Trump administration that have strained longstanding alliances.

    Across the 36 countries and territories included in the survey, a majority of respondents held more positive views of China than the U.S. in 25 nations – including key U.S. neighbors Canada and Mexico. Only six nations still ranked the U.S. as more popular than China. When it comes to individual leader approval, President Xi earned higher favorable ratings than Trump in 22 nations, including major European powers France, Germany, and the United Kingdom. Notably, the survey also found low overall confidence in both leaders across much of the world.

    Laura Silver, associate director of Pew’s Global Attitudes Research, emphasized the uniqueness of this milestone. “Prior to this survey, global opinions of Beijing and Washington were often comparable, but China had never held a significant lead in overall popularity,” she explained.

    Silver outlined multiple overlapping factors driving the shift, coming as the global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic continues to fade. “The outbreak of new global conflicts, the widespread perception that the U.S. is not contributing to global peace and stability, and eroding confidence in Trump’s leadership have all played key roles,” she said. Controversial Trump administration policies, including the public proposal to acquire Greenland from Denmark, unilateral military actions in Venezuela, and the U.S. approach to the Israel-Hamas conflict, have sparked widespread negative international pushback, she added. “The U.S. is facing significant international pressure over its recent policy choices.”

    Against this backdrop, China has benefited from a growing global perception as a more reliable partner committed to upholding global peace and stability, Silver noted.

    Officials from both sides have reacted to the poll findings with contrasting framing. A White House spokesperson defended the Trump administration’s global record, arguing that “President Trump has done more to advance global stability than any other leader in modern history,” pointing to U.S. actions against Iran and narcoterrorism as evidence. In contrast, the Chinese Embassy in Washington said the poll reflects “broad global recognition of China’s governance achievements and development progress.”

    The erosion of U.S. favorability is most pronounced among America’s longstanding traditional allies. In Canada, for example, positive views of the U.S. plummeted from 57% in 2023 to just 33% in 2026, while positive views of China jumped from 14% to 44%. Researchers attribute this sharp shift in Canada to trade tensions, including the steep tariffs Trump imposed on Canadian goods.

    Across major Western European nations including France, Germany, Spain, Italy, and the United Kingdom, China’s popularity has climbed steadily while U.S. favorability has fallen. In the UK, opinions of the two powers are now nearly evenly matched – a stark change from three years ago, when the U.S. held a large lead in public approval.

    Of the six nations where the U.S. still outranks China in favorability, Israel leads with roughly 80% of respondents holding positive views of the U.S., compared to just 19% for China. The other five nations are Japan, India, South Korea, the Philippines, and Poland, though even in these countries, U.S. approval ratings continue to trend downward.

    The U.S. still maintains a lead over China in global public perceptions of respect for personal freedoms, though that gap has narrowed in recent years as fewer people around the world believe the U.S. government upholds these values consistently.

    Pew researchers conducted the survey by polling more than 42,000 respondents across 35 countries plus the West Bank and East Jerusalem, with a margin of error ranging from 2.3 to 5.5 percentage points, meeting standard global survey research benchmarks.

    This notable shift in global public opinion carries far-reaching geopolitical implications. Nations that have long maintained close ties to the U.S. may now be inclined to re-evaluate their foreign policy orientations and economic partnership frameworks. Growing global confidence in China could strengthen Beijing’s global influence, particularly in regions where it has already expanded investment and collaboration through signature initiatives such as the Belt and Road.

    The decline in U.S. popularity is partially rooted in America’s domestic political climate, where deep partisan divisions and the Trump administration’s policy agenda have damaged the country’s long-held image as a stable, reliable global partner. On the international stage, controversial U.S. actions – from unilateral military interventions to escalating trade disputes – have fostered a widespread perception of American unpredictability.

    Global media coverage also plays a significant role in shaping public perceptions. Widespread reporting on China’s economic expansion, large-scale global infrastructure projects, and commitment to multilateral cooperation has boosted its positive image, while constant coverage of U.S. domestic political conflict and controversial foreign policy moves has eroded global public trust.

    Regional variations in preferences remain clear: Israel and several key Asian nations still favor the U.S. due to shared security interests and longstanding historical alliances. This confirms that deep-rooted geopolitical and cultural ties still weigh heavily in shaping global public opinion.

    Looking ahead, the global image of both powers will almost certainly continue to evolve. Shifts in U.S. leadership, potential changes in American foreign policy, and China’s continuing emergence as a leading global actor will all shape future global perceptions. This is a dynamic global landscape where trust, stability, and collaborative leadership remain the most critical factors shaping national influence. The shifting tides of global public opinion are already set to impact international negotiations, trade relationships, and security alliances, making it a key factor reshaping the global balance of power in the coming years.

  • Zapping Haiti of July 16, 2026

    Zapping Haiti of July 16, 2026

    On July 16, 2026, HaitiLibre published a comprehensive roundup of key political, security, and local developments unfolding across Haiti, one month out from the planned general elections.

    First, the country’s transitional government has formalized the legal foundation for the upcoming vote with two related decrees. An initial Electoral Decree, originally issued on June 2, 2026, lays out the full regulatory framework for every stage of the electoral process, including rules governing voter registration, political party accreditation and participation, polling day procedures, ballot counting, official results announcement, and the process for resolving electoral disputes. To address gaps and refine unclear provisions in the original text, the administration adopted an amending decree on July 2, 2026. Full texts of both documents are available for public download via the HaitiLibre website.

    In local governance news, the Cap-Haïtien Municipal Commission is advancing a city-wide beautification initiative aimed at revitalizing the coastal urban center. The commission has set a July 31 deadline for all residents and property owners to refresh the exterior facades of their homes and businesses as part of the campaign. Michel Saint-Croix, Mayor of Cap-Haïtien and head of the Municipal Commission, recently held consultation sessions with local stakeholders in the city center, focusing on neighborhoods that have already completed street and sidewalk clearing operations. During these gatherings, municipal leadership outlined the official protocols and logistics for free paint distribution to participating residents. In a statement following the meetings, the commission renewed its call for broad public participation, emphasizing that collective engagement is critical to delivering a more vibrant, welcoming city for all.

    On the security front, a critical new agreement has been reached to advance the government’s anti-gang operations, which are key to creating stable conditions for elections. This week, Patrick Pélissier, Haiti’s Minister of Justice and Public Security (MJSP), signed a formal Memorandum of Understanding with Jack Christofidès, diplomat and representative of the Gangs Suppression Force (GSF). Under the terms of the deal, all individuals arrested during GSF counter-gang operations across the country, as well as all weapons, ammunition, and tactical equipment seized during these missions, will be transferred to Haitian national authorities. Government officials note that the agreement marks a major step toward strengthening domestic public security capacities and establishing the stable conditions required to hold a free, fair general election.

    Despite these advances, Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé has confirmed that the long-awaited official electoral calendar will only be published once security conditions show consistent improvement. While announcing the imminent release of the calendar in a recent statement, the prime minister stressed that the actual timeline for voting remains contingent on tangible progress in reducing gang-related violence and stabilizing communities across the country.

    Parallel to domestic electoral preparations, Prime Minister Fils-Aimé is currently leading a high-level official delegation on a diplomatic mission to Washington D.C. The delegation includes James Monazard, Minister of Commerce and Industry, a representative of the Bank of the Republic of Haiti, and Georges Sassine, president of the Association of Industries of Haiti (ADIH). The core goal of the mission is to advocate for the extension of the HOPE/HELP trade act, a trade preference program widely recognized as a foundational pillar of the Haitian economy, particularly for the country’s critical textile export sector.

    To close the roundup, July 16 marked the day after the 73rd birthday of former Haitian president Jean-Bertrand Aristide, born July 15, 1953, in Port-Salut. The Tabarre Municipal Commission issued a formal statement marking the occasion, expressing deep gratitude for Aristide’s lasting contributions to local development in education and healthcare. Through the Dr. Aristide Foundation University (UNIFA) and the Dr. Aristide University Hospital, the former president has expanded access to critical public services for residents of Tabarre. The commission extended its warm wishes for continued good health, peace, and longevity, noting that Aristide’s lifelong work and commitment to Haitian development remain a powerful inspiration for current and future generations of Haitians.

  • Asset Recovery Interagency Network of the Caribbean drafting legal frameworks to go after dirty money

    Asset Recovery Interagency Network of the Caribbean drafting legal frameworks to go after dirty money

    On Wednesday, 15 July 2026, senior Caribbean law enforcement and anti-crime officials gathered for the annual general and steering group meetings of the Asset Recovery Interagency Network of the Caribbean (ARIN-CARIB), where they laid out a coordinated regional plan to crack down on illicit proceeds from transnational organized crime and strengthen cross-border asset recovery frameworks.

    Shalimar Hack, Guyana’s Director of Public Prosecutions and ARIN-CARIB’s 2026 president, opened the summit held under the theme “From Tracing to Transformation: Building An Asset Recovery-Ready Caribbean” by emphasizing that binding regional legal frameworks must embed mandatory inter-agency cooperation to speed up asset recovery investigations.

    Hack explained that fragmented regulatory structures and siloed agency operations slow progress in targeting criminal wealth. “When all relevant stakeholders are aligned under clear laws that support collaborative action, and understand the critical role of a unified approach to cutting off criminal proceeds, we can sustain an effective fight against transnational criminal activity,” she told attendees. She added that a regional interagency network is foundational to upholding rule of law across individual Caribbean jurisdictions and the region as a whole.

    Moving beyond traditional anti-crime approaches, Hack stressed that securing criminal convictions alone is not enough to dismantle organized crime groups. “If we do not undermine the financial foundations that allow these networks to operate, we have not truly solved the problem of transnational crime,” she said. Hack called for a systemic transformation of Caribbean asset recovery practices: authorities must not only successfully trace illegal assets and strip criminal networks of their illicit gains, but also repurpose those seized resources for public benefit across member states.

    Atlee Rodney, Deputy Executive Director of the Barbados-based Regional Security System (RSS) – ARIN-CARIB’s coordinating secretariat – outlined the ongoing work to advance these regional goals, noting that RSS is partnering closely with the network’s steering committee and key global strategic partners to update Caribbean legal frameworks for cross-border cooperation. Major partners include the European Union’s Europe Latin America Programme of Assistance against Transnational Organised Crime and the Inter-American Development Bank, which provide technical and financial support for regulatory reform.

    Rodney, a former Police Commissioner of Antigua and Barbuda, noted that a top priority is updating national legislative and policy frameworks across Caribbean countries to match the evolving sophistication of transnational criminal enterprises. Current key initiatives include drafting a regional Model Agreement for Joint Investigations, conducting reviews of domestic legal rules governing international cooperation, and strengthening mutual legal assistance mechanisms to enable faster, more effective exchange of information and evidence across national borders.

  • ONA : Ambitious reform of social registration

    ONA : Ambitious reform of social registration

    In a landmark push to rebuild Haiti’s social protection infrastructure and expand safeguards for the nation’s working population, leadership at the National Old-Age Insurance Office (ONA) has launched a sweeping overhaul of the country’s social registration system, marking a foundational shift in how Haitian workers access social security benefits.

    On July 15, 2026, ONA Director General Lovely François reaffirmed her administration’s commitment to embedding robust social security as a core pillar of Haiti’s national reconstruction, advancing long-overdue institutional reforms designed to transform the body’s operations for lasting positive change. François has centered her tenure on a core belief that a functional, fair social security system cannot exist without a modern, accurate, and inclusive registration framework. As a result, delivering a personalized insurance card to every eligible Haitian worker has become the top priority of her leadership.

    Acting on this strategic priority, Director of Social Security Andolphe E. D. Guillaume formally presented the ambitious new registration reform this week, an initiative crafted to tackle one of the ONA’s most persistent and intractable long-term challenges.

    Far more than a minor administrative tweak, the reform ushers in an entirely new era for social security across Haiti. Its core objectives include issuing every registered worker a unique, permanent, and fraud-resistant social identity, fully digitizing and modernizing the management of insured workers’ personal files, and ensuring that benefits and pension disbursements are delivered faster, with greater transparency, and far higher efficiency than previous systems allowed.

    For François, the ability of every Haitian worker to hold an official social security card represents far more than access to services: it is a tangible symbol of their fundamental rights, their individual dignity, and public recognition of the critical contributions they make to Haiti’s national development. This effort grows out of a deeply held conviction that social security must not remain a limited privilege reserved for a small group, but an enforceable, guaranteed right for every working person in the country.

    François’ vision aligns with broader governance goals focused on delivering measurable results, modernizing Haiti’s public institutions, and placing the needs of ordinary citizens at the center of all government action. Issuing standardized social security cards to all workers formalizes their right to social protection, helps them plan for long-term financial stability in retirement, and rebuilds public trust in Haiti’s republican institutions. Under François’ leadership, and in line with the vision set out by Haiti’s Prime Minister, ONA has committed to meeting this historic national challenge head-on.

  • Briceño Addresses Brother’s Reported Ties to Controversial Payments

    Briceño Addresses Brother’s Reported Ties to Controversial Payments

    As Belize Prime Minister John Briceño prepares to start a scheduled personal leave on July 16, 2026, growing scrutiny over questionable spending at the nation’s Ministry of Defense continues to overshadow his administration, with fresh allegations linking his brother to controversial under-the-radar payments.

    The controversy first erupted after leaked invoices from financial service provider Smart Stream revealed that Briceño’s brother and several of his business associates have received disbursements from the Ministry of Defense via a series of transactions each valued below $10,000, a threshold that often triggers less stringent regulatory oversight for public spending. Compounding these concerns, Briceño’s brother also holds a shareholder stake in Hugo Engineering, a local firm that has been contracted to supply fresh food and produce to the ministry for its military personnel.

    On July 15, 2026, reporters caught up with the prime minister during a recruit graduation ceremony for the Belize Defense Force (BDF) at Price Barracks, pressing him for answers on the ongoing independent audit into the ministry’s financial transactions. When asked whether he had spoken with his brother since the allegations first came to light four weeks prior, Briceño offered only a brief, one-sentence response: “I have spoke to him and there is nothing more to add.”

    Pressed for updates on the progress of the audit being conducted by Belize’s independent Auditor General, Briceño declined to comment on ongoing details, emphasizing that the office operates autonomously from the prime minister’s office. “I do not talk to the auditor general. She is independent and doing her own job. She is going meticulously through; it is a lot of files. There are invoices, the Pos, purchase orders, and the contracts, it is a lot of work and they are compiling them. That is the last I know from the CEO and whenever she has her report she will make it available,” Briceño told reporters.

    When questioned about calls to expand the audit to review procurement records dating back to 2015, Briceño confirmed he supports a full, far-reaching review of past spending, and announced he would direct the Financial Secretary to formally request the Auditor General extend the audit’s scope to that year. He pushed back against widespread public claims that the questionable payments have come at the expense of military rations, noting “every soldier will tell you that today they are eating way better than they did before we came into government.”

    Additional scrutiny has centered on the fact that multiple companies now holding Ministry of Defense supply contracts, including Kukulcan, MP Farms, and A&Y, were only incorporated after Briceño’s administration took office. When asked whether this timeline raised red flags for him, Briceño rejected suggestions of impropriety. “Nothing is wrong if you want to start your business to be able to supply or to provide a service or good to the government. There is nothing wrong with that. It is about getting value for money. And that is most important,” he said, adding that he could not comment on the founding of the firms and directing questions to the companies themselves.

    Briceño also refuted a claim from a former BDF Services and Support Battalion commander that all local procurement authority for basic supplies was moved from military command to central government in Belmopan after 2020. The prime countered that the centralization of procurement actually began in 2015, following a previous procurement scandal within the BDF, and that military personnel still have input on what supplies are purchased. “That is not true. That started in 2015 when there was a problem with the very same procurement within the BDF… even the things we buy, it is in consultation with the soldiers. The soldiers tell you what they want,” he explained.

    This report is based on a transcribed evening television broadcast from Belize.