BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – The first ever AfriCaribbean Trade and Investment Forum (ACTIF) opened here Thursday with host Prime Minister Mia Mottley saying the two regions “have business to do” and asserting that it was only political will keeping the two regions from establishing direct air links. 

PARAMARIBO, Suriname – President Chandrikapersad Santokhi, under pressure from opposition forces in recent months, has singled out the Association of Indigenous Villagers (VIDS) as an example of how society or parts of it stand up for their rights and obligations within the rules of law.

NASSAU, Bahamas – Bahamas Prime Minister Philip Davis says a solution to the political and economic crisis in Haiti must be a “Haitian solution” even as he welcomed a role for Nassau in dealing with the myriad of problems confronting Haiti.

UNITED NATIONS – The United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) Friday announced that it is providing five million US dollars to Haiti as the country responds to humanitarian needs triggered by gang violence.

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – The World Food Program (WFP) on Wednesday broke ground at the site of its Caribbean Regional Logistics Hub and Center of Excellence which will serve as an important launching point within the Caribbean when disasters hit.

PARAMARIBO, Suriname – President Chandrikapersad Santokhi says the issue of land rights remains a top priority for his administration even as indigenous people say they have been waiting for a very long time for recognition and intend to increase the pressure on the government to do so.

NASSAU, Bahamas – The Bahamas government will host a week-long national memorial with various activities to honor the victims of Hurricane Dorian that hit the archipelago on September 1, 2019, as a Category 5 hurricane killing at least 74 people and leaving many others missing and presumed dead.

KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent – The Mustique Charitable Trusts (MCT) says it will provide EC$4.02 million (One EC dollar=US$0.37 cents) for the construction of the houses in North Windward for people affected by the eruption of La Soufriere volcano in April 2021.

WASHINGTON, DC – The World Bank Group (WBG) on Wednesday announced details of its global crisis response package to help Caribbean and other developing countries navigate multiple, compounding crises that are hitting the poor and most vulnerable the hardest.

PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti – The United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH) says at least 94 residents were killed, more than 120 were injured by gunfire and 12 others disappeared in less than three weeks of fighting between rival gangs in the north and west of the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area.

Focused on the rallying around “Re-igniting a Nation for Greatness,” Jamaicans came together in the Washington DC-Maryland-Virginia (DMV) metropolitan region on Sunday to mark their island nation’s Diamond Jubilee with a special Church Service of Thanksgiving, also celebrating 184 years of Emancipation, as Prime Minister the Most Hon. Andrew Holness called them “crucial partners and drivers of Jamaica’s economic development.”

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad –Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley has called for an “overall understanding of the African condition” urging nationals to go to beyond the celebrations of Emancipation Day to reflect on the various issues confronting Trinidad and Tobago.