标签： Antigua and Barbuda

ST. JOHN’S, ANTIGUA & BARBUDA – In just two days, Antigua and Barbuda will welcome a groundbreaking new project from one of the nation’s rising young advocates: criminologist, scholar and social development leader Lawanda Lavia. Her upcoming motivational, nation-focused production *Educate to Build, Grow to Replenish* has stirred growing public excitement ahead of its launch in the next 48 hours.

The multi-part series is crafted to center on the life-changing impact of core societal values: accessible education, personal discipline, ethical leadership, community cohesion and individual resilience. Its core mission is to empower all citizens, particularly young people, to build purpose-driven lives and contribute meaningfully to the long-term progress of Antigua and Barbuda.

Lavia, who recently earned a master’s degree with Merit in Criminology and Social Policy from Liverpool John Moores University, has built her public career around advancing justice, lifting up marginalized youth, and expanding support for vulnerable communities across the twin-island nation. This new production is framed as a natural extension of that ongoing commitment to public service.

Unlike many mainstream digital productions, this project is far more than entertainment: it is structured as a full social empowerment campaign built to cultivate collective hope, national civic pride, and a renewed sense of personal responsibility among citizens. The project’s title intentionally breaks down its core philosophy into four actionable pillars, with explicit acknowledgment of the Antigua and Barbuda government’s ongoing investment in finance and education sectors:
1. **Educate**: Prioritize continuous knowledge-building and lifelong learning for all residents
2. **Build**: Strengthen the foundations of strong families, connected communities, and trusted public institutions
3. **Grow**: Advance holistic development across personal, professional, environmental and spiritual dimensions of life
4. **Replenish**: Commit to giving back to local communities and lifting up the next generation of leaders

Featuring cinematic narrative techniques, heartfelt personal messaging, and consistent focus on inclusive national progress, the series will center much of its messaging on young Antiguans and Barbudans. Lavia plans to use the platform to reinforce a simple, empowering lesson: meaningful success is within reach for young people who commit to consistency, intentional education, lawful citizenship and clear long-term vision.

Those who have followed Lavia’s public advocacy over the years note that her work has always been rooted in service, not recognition. She has previously pushed for stronger child protection policies, expanded family support frameworks, and more youth-centered public policy across Antigua and Barbuda. This upcoming release is widely framed as a constructive, positive contribution to civic life—designed to motivate citizens rather than criticize or divide.

As the launch countdown continues, public anticipation has grown across the islands. Local residents have been urged to watch, support and share the production once it goes live, at a moment when many Antiguans and Barbudans are actively seeking uplifting local content that reflects national ambition, shared progress, and collective pride.

In an unofficial statement shared by Lavia’s supporters, the core message of the production boils down to a straightforward truth: “When one citizen rises through education and returns to serve their home, the whole nation reaps the benefits.”

For many observers, this series represents more than a new media project. It stands as a symbol of what young, educated Antiguans can achieve when they channel their knowledge, creativity and patriotism into building a brighter shared future for the entire nation. In just two days, all of Antigua and Barbuda will be waiting to see what Lavia has created.

After more than five hours of careful deliberation, a nine-member criminal jury has delivered a split verdict in one of Antigua and Barbuda’s high-profile 2020 homicide cases, finding defendant Saleim Harrigan guilty of the murder of senior customs official Nigel Christian. Co-defendants Wayne Thomas and Lasean Bully, who stood trial alongside Harrigan on the same murder charge, have been cleared of all wrongdoing in connection to the killing. The jury returned to the courtroom of Justice Rajiv Persaud shortly after 7 p.m. to announce their final decision, a conclusion that came after jurors began their closed-door deliberations around 2 p.m. earlier that day. Approximately four hours into deliberations, the panel notified the court that they required additional time to reach a consensus on each defendant before finalizing their verdicts. The case traces its origins back to July 10, 2020, the day Christian was abducted at gunpoint from his private residence in the McKinnons neighborhood of Antigua. Later that same day, search teams located the customs officer’s lifeless body on an unimproved dirt road in the Thibou’s district of the island. With the guilty verdict now in place, Harrigan is currently being held in custody as he awaits his formal sentencing, which has not yet been scheduled by the court. While Thomas was acquitted of the murder charge alongside Bully, he will remain in custody. Justice Persaud ordered Thomas remanded on an unrelated legal matter that is still pending before the Antiguan judicial system.

After nearly a decade of planning, regulatory navigation, and phased construction work, the long-awaited Booby Alley Housing project has finally reached its last stage of development, marking a major milestone for a community that has waited years for expanded, affordable living options.

First conceived back in 2016 as a response to growing local housing shortages and deteriorating existing infrastructure in the Booby Alley neighborhood, the initiative was designed to deliver 120 mixed-income residential units, alongside 8,000 square feet of community amenity space that includes a new neighborhood park, a small business incubator, and a childcare center. Over the past eight years, the project navigated a series of hurdles, from zoning approval delays to supply chain disruptions sparked by the 2020 global pandemic, which pushed back original completion timelines by more than two years.

Local housing officials confirmed this week that all major structural work is now complete, and the final phase—covering interior finishing, utility connections, and landscaping—is underway. Current projections have the entire project wrapping up by the fourth quarter of this year, with the first new residents moving in by early 2025.

“We’ve stayed committed to delivering this project to a community that has needed it for decades,” said Maria Gonzalez, director of the city’s Department of Housing and Community Development. “This isn’t just about building new homes—it’s about investing in the future of this neighborhood, creating space for long-time residents and new families to thrive.”

Affordable housing advocates have also praised the project’s progress, noting that 40 percent of the new units are reserved for low and middle-income households earning below 80 percent of the area median income, a requirement that community organizers fought to include in the project’s initial terms. Once completed, the development is expected to cut the local affordable housing waiting list by nearly 15 percent, according to city data.

The Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party (ABLP) has publicly expressed approval for the government’s recent confirmation that it will continue moving forward with the first phase of the University of the West Indies Five Islands Campus Expansion Project, a landmark initiative designed to drive national growth and systemic educational transformation across the twin-island nation.

This large-scale public investment in tertiary education marks a deliberate, forward-thinking strategic move to establish Antigua and Barbuda as a leading regional center for advanced academic study, innovative research, and youth capacity-building. Upon completion, the expanded campus will bring cutting-edge, globally competitive infrastructure to the country, including new purpose-built academic facilities, expanded on-campus student housing, and a modern indoor athletic complex. All new construction is paired with foundational civil infrastructure upgrades that will support both the first phase of development and future expansion efforts down the line.

To advance the project into active implementation, Antigua and Barbuda’s Ministry of Works has officially published a tender invitation seeking bids from qualified construction firms to carry out the work. This call for proposals marks a key milestone, shifting the initiative from the preliminary planning stage to on-the-ground execution. It also underscores the governing administration’s stated priorities of tangible results, transparent accountability, and on-schedule project delivery.

Daryll Matthew, the country’s Minister of Education, Sports and the Creative Industries and Parliamentary Representative for St. John’s Rural South, emphasized that the project extends far beyond new construction. “This expansion is more than a construction project; it is a nation-building initiative that will empower generations of Antiguans and Barbudans with access to high-quality education right here at home,” Matthew said.

The ABLP concluded its statement by commending the government for its sustained commitment to ensuring that improved access to opportunity, upward social mobility, and broad-based national progress reach every household across Antigua and Barbuda.

Motorists and local commuters in Antigua and Barbuda are receiving advance official notice of upcoming major infrastructure upgrades that will disrupt travel along a key stretch of All Saints Road next year. The Ministry of Works has announced that large-scale improvement works, a core component of the government’s broader All Saints Road Project, will be carried out between Bottom Village and the Pentecostal Church along the route.

To accommodate construction activity, a temporary traffic detour will go into effect starting at 7:00 p.m. on Monday, April 27, 2026, and will remain in place until 7:00 a.m. the following morning. The detour plan separates routing for outbound and inbound traffic to minimize confusion during the overnight construction window.

For drivers traveling out of the main town area who are heading toward All Saints and passing the Midway Service Station en route to destinations beyond the work zone, crews will redirect vehicles onto Freeman’s Village main road to bypass the closed construction site. For those traveling into town, approaching All Saints Service Station on their way to St. John’s and passing beyond the work area, the official detour routes drivers through Jonas Road.

Crucially, local residents who live in the immediate vicinity of the infrastructure work site will retain full access to their properties throughout the construction period. All businesses located along the affected stretch of road, including both the Midway Service Station and All Saints Service Station referenced in the detour notice, will remain open for normal operations during the work.

Government officials urge all road users to exercise extra caution when traveling near the work zone, noting that heavy construction equipment will be operating in close proximity to active passageways. As the overnight work is expected to cause minor delays for through traffic, project stakeholders and regular commuters are advised to adjust their travel schedules and route plans ahead of time to account for the disruption.

Members of the public with questions about the detour or the All Saints Road Project can reach the Project Implementation Management Unit directly by phone at 562-9173 for further information.

On the morning of Monday, April 27, 2026, a security incident unfolded at the Royal Police Force of Antigua and Barbuda’s headquarters in St. John’s that prompted a full-scale emergency response, after officials received an anonymous bomb threat targeting the building.

According to official statements from the force’s Office of Strategic Communications, the threatening call came in just before 10 a.m., when the unknown caller claimed an explosive device had been hidden inside the police headquarters. Acting rapidly to prioritize the safety of all personnel and visitors on site, police leadership immediately triggered standard evacuation protocols, ordering every person inside the premises to exit in an orderly fashion. The evacuation was completed without any injuries or security complications, moving all occupants to a safe distance away from the building.

Immediately following the evacuation, the force’s specialized Explosive Ordnance Disposal Team was deployed to sweep the building and its adjacent surrounding areas, with additional support from the police K-9 unit trained in explosive detection. After completing a comprehensive, room-by-room search of the entire facility and surrounding grounds, the EOD team confirmed that no explosive devices or suspicious materials matching the caller’s description were found. With the all-clear officially given, the headquarters was reopened, and all regular police operations resumed as scheduled shortly after the incident.

Senior leaders with the Royal Police Force have issued a strong condemnation of the deliberate hoax, noting that the false threat created unnecessary public anxiety, disrupted critical law enforcement operations, and wasted valuable emergency response resources that would otherwise be available for legitimate threats to public safety. Officials emphasized that hoax bomb threats are classified as serious criminal offenses under Antigua and Barbuda law, and those responsible will face full legal consequences if apprehended.

The force’s Criminal Investigations Department has already opened a formal investigation to trace the caller and identify the individual responsible for the incident. Police are now appealing to members of the public who may have any relevant information that could assist with the investigation to come forward. Tips can be submitted directly to the CID hotline at 462-3913, or shared anonymously via the independent Crimestoppers hotline at 800-TIPS (8477). All information provided will be kept strictly confidential, according to police officials.