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  • Seniors at Odle’s Glen to pay part of pensions for housing

    Seniors at Odle’s Glen to pay part of pensions for housing

    Barbados is moving forward with a landmark $175 million Health Services Resilience Programme, an initiative designed to expand and upgrade the nation’s senior care and healthcare infrastructure by 2029. At the heart of this four-part project is the proposed Odle’s Glen Senior Citizens Village in St George, where officials have confirmed that residents will be required to contribute up to 35 percent of their pension income toward accommodation costs under a state-subsidized cost-recovery framework already in use at another existing senior facility.

    Coleen Walcott, interim director of Barbados’ Social Empowerment Agency (SEA), outlined the details of the model during a recent public consultation held at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre. She explained that the cost-recovery structure, already implemented at both Soroptimist Village and Vauxhall Senior Citizens Village, keeps housing heavily subsidized by the government, with the 35 percent contribution covering all accommodation costs and utility bills. After covering this fee, residents only need to budget for personal expenses and food. Walcott emphasized that the policy includes flexible adjustments for changing health and financial circumstances, thanks to streamlined service coordination under the SEA, which now integrates the former Welfare Department and National Disabilities Unit.

    Walcott acknowledged that the model will not meet every senior’s needs perfectly, given the diversity of the older adult population. The overarching goal of the program is to reduce the burden of elder care on families while preserving critical connections between seniors and their loved ones, with ongoing social work support to facilitate these relationships.

    In addition to outlining the Odle’s Glen cost structure, Walcott provided updated timelines for another major senior care project: the $7 million Sterling specialized housing development in St Philip, which is currently under construction for seniors requiring customized home care. The three-phase project’s first component, an on-site day care facility, is already in an advanced stage of completion and is on track to open by the end of the current fiscal year.

    Following completion of the first phase, construction will move forward on site infrastructure including roads, accessible pathways, and a therapeutic pool, before the final phase of building 27 standalone cottages. Walcott noted that the decision to build individual, rather than communal, housing was rooted in local cultural research showing that Barbadian seniors prefer private living spaces, with accommodations still available for couples to share a unit.

    Unlike the existing Vauxhall Senior Citizens Village, the Sterling development will not offer 24/7 on-site staff. The facility is designed primarily for seniors capable of independent living, who will be able to access on-demand home care, daily living support, and a companion program that provides longer-term in-home assistance when needed. Walcott added that project planners have accounted for the fact that many residents’ health will decline over time, requiring additional support. To address this, the facility will adapt services to changing needs, leveraging proximity to local healthcare services and a dedicated rehabilitative unit within the SEA, which already contracts nursing staff to provide ongoing care support. Adaptive management strategies will be built into facility operations to meet evolving resident needs.

    The Odle’s Glen Senior Citizens Village is one of four major healthcare infrastructure projects included in the national Health Services Resilience Programme, which also features a new Geriatric Hospital in Waterford, the Roseville Halfway House in St Peter, and expansion works at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. All projects are scheduled to be fully operational by 2029.

  • HATI grads promised farmland

    HATI grads promised farmland

    Barbados is making a bold push to revitalize its agricultural sector, with two landmark initiatives at the forefront: free farmland for qualifying graduates of the newly launched Hope Agricultural Training Institute (HATI) and the construction of what will be the Caribbean region’s largest tissue culture laboratory. Minister of Agriculture Dr. Shantal Munro-Knight made the announcements Monday as the institute welcomed its very first cohort of students, framing the moves as part of a deliberate national strategy to turn agriculture into a core economic engine and draw more young people into the industry.

    Under the new graduate incentive program, HATI students who earn their diplomas or certificates and express a commitment to pursuing professional farming will receive between one and two acres of farmland at no cost. Munro-Knight emphasized that the policy was intentionally designed to remove one of the biggest barriers to entry for new young farmers, addressing longstanding underrepresentation of youth in Barbados’ agricultural workforce. “We are designing a programme within the ministry that will allow us to be able to give those graduates of HATI that are interested in actually becoming farmers,” she explained, adding “That was something that was deliberate and intentional.”

    Beyond supporting new entrants, the ministry is investing heavily in upgrading agricultural production infrastructure. A state-of-the-art tissue culture laboratory is scheduled to open its doors in October, a facility Munro-Knight says will be the largest of its kind in the entire region. The lab will produce disease-free, clean planting material to significantly boost the quality of Barbados’ local agricultural output, a major upgrade that addresses longstanding gaps in the country’s supply chain for high-quality planting stock.

    The government is also overhauling its existing agricultural support framework to better meet current industry needs. The Farmers’ Empowerment and Enfranchisement Drive (FEED) program is being reframed to ensure it is “fit for purpose”, while new initiatives focused on expanding agro-processing are being rolled out to add more value to local produce and create new market opportunities for farmers. This November, the ministry will launch a national challenge, inviting Barbadians across the country to develop innovative solutions to five of the most pressing challenges currently facing the island’s agricultural sector.

    Munro-Knight pushed back against the common narrative that agriculture is merely an underdeveloped potential sector for Barbados, and rejected the widespread myth that young Barbadians have no interest in working in farming. The very presence of the first cohort of HATI students, she argued, disproves that claim. “The fact that you have placed that commitment and passion in agriculture demonstrates to all of us, in fact, it repudiates that myth, that young people are not interested in agriculture,” she told the incoming students.

    Declaring that agriculture is already in the early stages of a national resurgence, the minister stressed that the government’s renewed focus on the sector is no accident. For too long, agriculture has been sidelined in conversations about Barbados’ economic growth, talked about only as a future opportunity rather than an immediate core driver of development. “I say that without apology, agriculture is resurging. We will take up space,” she stated. “Agriculture is perhaps one of the most underlooked elements in this society. When we think about economic growth and when we think about the future of this country, agriculture is one of the things that we speak of softly, that we speak of only as having potential, but never as a thing that will take up space and become a major driver.”

    Munro-Knight told the new HATI students that they are the critical driving force needed to turn this vision of a revitalized agricultural sector into reality, urging them to embrace their role in shaping the future of Barbados’ food system and economy. “The students that are here today, you are that energy that we need. It is a big mantle that we place on your shoulders, but it is a fundamental and a necessary one,” she said, adding “Agriculture people, we are resurging, but we must do it together.”

  • Cuban courts penalize theft of electrical components

    Cuban courts penalize theft of electrical components

    Cuban law enforcement and judicial institutions have opened more than 460 criminal probes between 2025 and the first half of 2026 focused on coordinated and individual attacks against the country’s critical electrical infrastructure, according to official statements shared on social platform X.

    State-run newspaper Granma, the official publication of the Cuban Communist Party, has detailed that the most widespread offense documented in these investigations is the theft of dielectric oil from high-voltage power transformers. This illegal act is formally categorized as sabotage against critical national infrastructure, due to its far-reaching harm to the national economy, domestic security, and public daily order.

    To date, more than 300 formal complaints for this specific crime have been registered across every Cuban province. Officials note that the highest rates of incidence have been recorded in five regions: Matanzas, Ciego de Avila, Mayabeque, Santiago de Cuba, and Artemisa.

    The stolen dielectric oil is typically diverted to the country’s unregulated informal market, where it is often resold and repurposed as cheap alternative fuel for consumer and commercial use, a practice that creates additional safety hazards for communities beyond the damage to the power grid.

    Under the current Cuban Penal Code, sabotage against critical infrastructure carries steep legal penalties, with sentences ranging from seven to 30 years of imprisonment, up to life incarceration, or in the most severe cases, the death penalty. Cuba’s Attorney General’s Office has confirmed that it has authorized pre-trial detention for 87 percent of all individuals accused in these infrastructure attack cases, and has formally requested strict, maximum-allowed sentences for the defendants as part of the judicial process.

    In the official social media statement, government representatives stressed that all judicial rulings issued in these cases have followed full due process protocols, and reflect the gravity with which Cuban authorities treat these criminal acts that threaten public welfare and national stability.

  • Grand Market vendors call for December return

    Grand Market vendors call for December return

    The just-concluded 10-day Caribbean Grand Market has outperformed all initial projections, leaving participating artisans and vendors so satisfied that they are already calling for a follow-up edition as early as December this year, according to Carol Roberts, chief executive of the National Cultural Foundation (NCF).

    Roberts shared that informal conversations with vendors have revealed widespread demand for another run of the popular market before the end of the year. “I can tell you anecdotally that quite a number of vendors are already asking for a similar rollout and experience in December, which says a lot about how positively this event landed for them,” she noted.

    Rooted in post-CARIFESTA legacy planning, the 2024 Caribbean Grand Market was created in direct response to a government mandate issued after last year’s Caribbean Festival of Arts. The core goal of the initiative was to carve out a dedicated, high-profile space for regional creative talent to showcase their work to the public, aligning with a directive from the country’s prime minister to turn CARIFESTA’s momentum into long-term opportunities for creatives.

    Roberts expressed full confidence that the NCF delivered on that promise. “I think it’s been a very good ten days in terms of the execution of the event and being true to the prime minister’s mandate,” she said. “This is one of the key legacy initiatives coming out of CARIFESTA last year. We were directed to remount the Grand Market to make sure that it captured all of the flavours, the sights, the sounds, and the creativity of the Caribbean — and that is exactly what we are confident we have delivered.”

    Nearly 150 primary vendors set up stalls across the event’s venue at CARIFESTA House in Waterford, offering a diverse array of goods that spanned far beyond traditional handicrafts. Attendees could browse original visual art pieces, handcrafted home decor, artisanal fashion, natural spa and wellness products, and specialty gourmet foods from across the region. A dedicated food court also drew large crowds of food enthusiasts, serving up authentic signature dishes from eight different Caribbean nations.

    Roberts explained that the event’s daily attendance followed a predictable seasonal pattern, shaped by the warm Caribbean climate. “It is a hot time of year, and therefore we very quickly realised that we would have a good crowd in the morning, a lull when the sun is at its hottest, and then the crowds will build back up in the evening,” she said. “And so said, so done, that’s exactly what has happened.” She added that the recent timing of government and national paydays also gave a boost to consumer spending, with most vendors reporting strong, satisfying sales figures.

    Beyond the retail experience, NCF organizers built out a diverse, multi-genre entertainment lineup to complement the market, moving beyond the familiar soca acts that dominate seasonal events. The programming included spoken word performances, cabaret shows, traditional spouge music, vintage calypso, and jazz sets, while also providing a professional stage for emerging creative talent developed through existing NCF outreach programs.

    The successful model of the Caribbean Grand Market aligns with broader national goals to build a sustainable, year-round event calendar for the region’s creative industries. In the wake of overwhelmingly positive feedback from both vendors and attendees, the NCF is already actively planning future editions to keep consistent commercial opportunities open for regional creators.

    Roberts emphasized the long-term economic and cultural value of expanding the market. “The Caribbean Grand Market is ripe for further expansion, exploitation, and execution,” she said. “The more that we as a country and as a region can create opportunities not only for cultural producers to manufacture and display their work, but for us to buy from our own, using for the vast majority our raw materials from the region, it augurs well for everyone.”

    While a full formal post-event evaluation is still scheduled to be completed in the coming weeks, Roberts confirmed that early feedback points to overwhelming vendor interest in holding another edition much earlier than the planned next summer cycle, with December emerging as the clear preferred timeline from participating creators.

  • Free Wadadli Healing Symposium Opens Registration in Antigua and Barbuda

    Free Wadadli Healing Symposium Opens Registration in Antigua and Barbuda

    Across Antigua and Barbuda, local communities have increasingly raised calls for targeted support to address intergenerational trauma, strengthen social bonds, and improve collective public well-being. Responding directly to these demands, the Jane E. Toussaint Foundation has partnered with The University of the West Indies Five Islands Campus and Be The Healing Inc. to launch the Wadadli Healing Symposium, a two-day free gathering centered on healing, cultural celebration, and community resilience that is now open for online registration. While admission to the event carries no cost, available spots are strictly capped, with registration operating on a first-come-first-served basis that will close immediately once capacity is hit, prompting organizers to urge local residents to reserve their spaces as soon as possible.

  • Saint Lucians pleased with Americas youth table tennis series

    Saint Lucians pleased with Americas youth table tennis series

    The ITTF-Americas Youth Championships, one of the Western Hemisphere’s most competitive youth table tennis tournaments, brought together top rising talent from across the region at Guatemala City’s Domo Polideportivo. Among the competing delegations, four young players from the Caribbean nation of Saint Lucia turned in a memorable performance, overcoming a significant travel mishap to hold their own against elite youth opponents. Even though the entire team’s checked luggage went missing en route to the tournament venue and remained lost during their return trip home, the young athletes and their coaching staff have focused on their positive outcomes rather than the setback.

    Leading the charge for Saint Lucia was 17-year-old Shatal Charles, who delivered the team’s most notable individual result in the junior girls’ singles draw. Charles got off to a rocky start in Group 7 play, dropping an opening four-set match 3-1 (11-9, 11-8, 9-11, 11-9) to Peru’s Kiara Tafur. Rather than letting the early loss derail her campaign, the young Saint Lucian rebounded in dominant fashion, sweeping Chile’s Agustina Urrutia 3-0 (11-5, 11-4, 11-8) to claim second place in the group and secure a spot in the tournament’s round of 32. There, Charles faced group winner Lilian Ma, an American player of Asian descent who would go on to finish second in the overall singles draw, and bowed out with a 4-0 (11-5, 11-3, 11-4, 11-3) defeat. Charles also partnered with teammate Leshon Francis in the junior mixed doubles event, where the pair fell 3-0 (11-6, 11-8, 11-7) to the Dominican Republic duo of Ramon Vila and Arianna Estrella in the same round.

    Francis, competing in the under-15 cadet boys’ division, also punched his ticket to the knockout round of 32. Like Charles, Francis dropped his opening group match against Peru’s Josue Portalatino before bouncing back. After reversing an early set deficit to beat Portalatino 3-1 (11-6, 9-11, 11-8, 11-7), Francis secured his knockout spot with another 3-1 (11-5, 11-6, 11-13, 12-10) win over Ecuador’s Juan Montalvo, finishing second in Group 8. His run ended in the round of 32 with a 3-0 (11-8, 11-9, 11-4) elimination at the hands of Costa Rica’s top seed Lucca Lobo. Francis later joined Manie Eleuthere in the junior boys’ doubles draw, where the Saint Lucian pair pushed Trinidad & Tobago’s Malik Gopaul and Josiah Joseph to a five-set thriller before exiting with a narrow 3-2 (7-11, 11-5, 7-11, 11-9, 11-7) defeat.

    In the junior boys’ singles draw, Eleuthere became the third Saint Lucian to advance out of group play. After opening his Group 6 campaign with a 3-0 (11-8, 11-7, 11-4) loss to Peru’s Keiji Takeda, Eleuthere rallied to beat Costa Rica’s Ariel Bartels 3-1 (11-7, 10-12, 11-3, 12-10) and clinch a knockout round spot. He was eventually ousted 4-0 (11-4, 11-7, 11-3, 11-7) by top-ranked American junior Anav Gupta in the round of 32. The fourth member of the Saint Lucian delegation, Khamari Harris, competed in the same junior boys’ singles group as Charles, Group 7, but was unable to advance. Harris dropped a 3-1 (11-6, 11-6, 6-11, 11-1) decision to the Dominican Republic’s Ramon Vila and a 3-0 (11-5, 11-5, 11-5) loss to host nation Guatemala’s Diego Suchite, ending his tournament run in the preliminary stage.

    Looking back on the team’s performance, head coach Chris Wells expressed nothing but pride in his young players’ efforts. Wells highlighted two landmark team victories over Costa Rica and Mexico as standout achievements that signal growing strength for table tennis in the small island nation. “Our players did well overall. Gaining team wins over Costa Rica and Mexico was huge for us,” Wells said, noting that the experience of competing against the best youth players in the Americas will pay dividends for the athletes’ development moving forward. The team officially returned to Saint Lucia on Monday, still waiting to recover their missing luggage from the journey.

  • Zapping Haiti of September 1st, 2026

    Zapping Haiti of September 1st, 2026

    On September 1, 2026, Haiti is seeing a series of key developments across security, education, institutional capacity building, and public services that shape the nation’s ongoing progress amid ongoing challenges.

    In the critical area of public security, a key deployment shift is underway in the capital Port-au-Prince. The specialized Gang Suppression Force (GSF) has assumed control of key security positions previously held by the Haitian National Police (PNH). This handover is designed to free up PNH units to reorient their efforts toward strengthening community protection initiatives in the mountainous commune of Kenscoff, a region that has faced growing security pressures in recent months. As the GSF expands its operational footprint across gang-ravaged areas of the capital, it is working hand-in-hand with Haitian national authorities to reestablish formal state authority, and maintain a consistent, visible security presence for local residents.

    In the vocational education sector, Haiti’s National Institute for Vocational Training (INFP), via its Certification and Guidance Directorate, has launched a major new public resource: the 2026-2027 Occupational Directory. This comprehensive reference tool organizes available employment pathways sorted by economic sector and required qualification level. It catalogs 5 distinct economic sectors, draws on programming from 25 public and private training centers, includes 696 formal vocational training programs, and is paired with 3,480 official skills reference documents, all available digitally through INFP’s official platforms. The directory is framed as an essential tool for Haitians navigating the labor market, as it clarifies available training opportunities, supports evidence-based career guidance for both young job seekers and working adults seeking reorientation, and helps align trained skills with actual current demand from employers across the Haitian economy. The full directory is available for public download via the official HaitiLibre document portal.

    In political news, the Renmen Ayiti political party issued an official statement dated August 30, 2026, issued a public denial of widespread circulating reports claiming an attack had been carried out against politician Jean-Henry Céant during a recent official visit to the coastal city of Cap-Haïtien. The party’s statement categorizes the reports as deliberate disinformation, intended to destabilize the VIKTWA political coalition, of which Renmen Ayiti is a core member. No further details on the source of the false reports were provided in the official release.

    In education outcomes for the Northeast department, an outstanding new report confirms 114 secondary schools achieved a perfect 100% pass rate for all fully graded candidates in the 2025-2026 9th Grade Accreditation Examination (9th AF). In total, 2,569 candidates from these high-performing institutions passed the exam, placing them to advance to the next stage of secondary education. Schools are ranked in descending order by the number of candidates who sat for the exam; in cases of a tie, the institution with the higher overall average score receives the higher ranking. The full sorted list of 100% pass rate schools is also available for public download via HaitiLibre.

    In the justice sector, 20 Haitian legal and law enforcement professionals are set to depart Haiti for France on September 2, 2026, for specialized advanced training. On August 31, the Minister of Justice and Public Security hosted an official breakfast in their honor, held under the patronage of the Prime Minister’s Office. The cohort, which includes 10 magistrates (one of whom serves at the supreme Court of Cassation, 5 practicing attorneys, 2 senior court clerks, and 3 police commissioners, will participate in a targeted “training-of-trainers program focused on Haiti’s new Penal Code and new Code of Criminal Procedure. The initiative is designed to build domestic capacity to implement the country’s long-awaited criminal justice reforms.

    Finally, in a milestone for Haitian diplomacy, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs held a formal certification ceremony at the Ministry Chancery in Port-au-Prince, where it awarded completion certificates to the first cohort of the nation’s new professional diplomatic and consular administrator pool. Senior leadership and general directors of the Ministry were in attendance for the event. This inaugural training program marks a key step forward in the ongoing professionalization of Haitian diplomatic service, and is expected to significantly strengthen the Ministry’s core administrative capacity. During the ceremony, the Foreign Minister encouraged the new graduates urged the new certified administrators framed their certification not just as the completion of their intensive training, but as the starting point for a new public service career rooted in core values of professional competence, rigor, personal integrity, institutional loyalty, and commitment to public service.

    This report was compiled by HaitiLibre, Haiti’s leading independent online news outlet, on September 1, 2026.

  • Cuban Ambassador highlights positive relations with the Holy See

    Cuban Ambassador highlights positive relations with the Holy See

    In a formal diplomatic meeting held at Vatican City, the newly appointed Cuban representative to the Holy See, Ambassador Rodriguez, has publicly voiced his appreciation for the warm hospitality extended to him by Vatican authorities, while outlining his core priorities for advancing bilateral ties during his diplomatic tenure.

    Rodriguez made clear that the Cuban government holds deep respect for the public statements and ongoing initiatives led by Pope Leo XIV, particularly the pontiff’s steadfast advocacy for peace, inclusive dialogue, and negotiated solutions to the international conflicts that have left widespread death and devastation across multiple nations.

    Beyond addressing global security issues, the ambassador underscored the Cuban administration’s unwavering focus on advancing domestic peace, social stability, and inclusive economic growth – goals made far more challenging by the steady escalation of unilateral economic sanctions imposed by the United States. He also reiterated that the U.S. maintains persistent threats of direct military aggression against the Caribbean island nation, creating additional uncertainty and strain for the Cuban people.

    Following discussions with the President of the Governorate of the Holy See, Rodriguez confirmed that the Vatican official provided a comprehensive overview of the support services, cultural institutions including Vatican museums, infrastructure projects, and programming available to the global diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See. The ambassador noted that this information was received with keen interest by the Cuban delegation.

  • LIVE: The Dominica Council Of Ageing hosts its Media Launch of the Month of the Elderly 2026

    LIVE: The Dominica Council Of Ageing hosts its Media Launch of the Month of the Elderly 2026

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  • Agriculture : Several sections of rural roads provisionally accepted in Grand’Anse

    Agriculture : Several sections of rural roads provisionally accepted in Grand’Anse

    Haiti’s Ministry of Agriculture is wrapping up a key rural infrastructure initiative in the Grand’Anse department, where rehabilitation works on multiple critical rural road segments in the municipalities of Beaumont and Pestel have passed preliminary compliance checks and received provisional acceptance as of August 26, 2026. The project is a core component of the national Resilient Agriculture for Food Security Project (PARSA), a broader development push focused on unlocking agricultural potential across underserved rural regions of the country.

    In total, the initiative delivered upgrades to 1,200 meters of rural roadway: 600 meters of reinforced concrete strip roads and an equal length of graded dirt roads. Broken down across the project sites, the works in Beaumont’s Chardonnette second communal section included 150 meters of concrete strip rehabilitation and 200 meters of dirt road improvements, while the nearby Dumois locality received an identical 150 meters of concrete work and 200 meters of dirt track upgrades. In Pestel’s Clément fourth communal section, along the key route linking the Desriveaux intersection to Macochon, crews completed 300 meters of concrete strip road rehabilitation and 200 meters of dirt road repairs.

    The provisional acceptance process was led by Ralph Wendy Despeignes, agricultural engineer and Departmental Director of Agriculture for Grand’Anse, working in collaboration with PARSA’s regional coordination office for Haiti’s Grand Sud region. Local government leaders and community representatives from the beneficiary populations were also in attendance to observe the compliance verification.

    The upgraded road segments were selected specifically for their outsize impact on both daily community life and agricultural activity. For local residents, the improved roadways will dramatically change access to critical essential services, including healthcare clinics, primary and secondary schools, and other public resources that many have long struggled to reach due to impassable or poorly maintained routes.

    For the region’s large community of smallholder and commercial agricultural producers, the upgrades address one of the most persistent barriers to livelihood growth: poor transportation connectivity. By smoothing routes between remote production zones and major urban consumption markets, the project is expected to cut down on product spoilage and post-harvest losses that have eroded producer incomes for decades. It will also reduce overall transportation costs, creating more favorable conditions for farmers to market their output at fair prices and invest in adding value to their products before they reach consumers. Beyond individual producer benefits, the improved connectivity is projected to stimulate stronger commercial exchange between rural production hubs and urban centers, laying the groundwork for long-term economic growth in one of Haiti’s key agricultural regions.