Palestine's foreign minister handed Ghanaian journalist Kwesi Pratt a medal for backing their cause during the Gaza conflict. Varsen Aghabekian showed up in Accra and gave the award on behalf of President Mahmoud Abbas, saying Pratt deserves recognition for pushing solidarity between the two countries.
Pratt runs Ghana's solidarity campaign for Palestine and said the honor actually belongs to all the local reporters and citizens who keep speaking up about the situation. He basically took the W for everyone in Ghana who stays loud about human rights violations.
Aghabekian swung through Ghana to talk about deeper ties between the governments and explore potential agreements. She also planted a friendship tree and thanked Ghana for...
The US Embassy in Trinidad just told H-1B and H-4 visa applicants that they need to flip all their social media to public mode for background checks. The announcement hits everyone trying to get specialty worker visas or tag along as dependents.
State Department officials are expanding their online snooping program, and the new rules kick in mid-month. Embassies already made people hand over their social media handles back in 2019, but the government wants full access to profiles and posts to vet people coming into the country. They're calling every visa decision a national security move and saying they need to verify identity, plus check if someone can legally enter.
Jamaica's health minister, Christopher Tufton, says leptospirosis cases and deaths are dropping after cleanup crews hit the streets. The government has already treated over 500 high-risk communities, and dengue plus flu numbers are sitting below normal levels for the season.
Tufton told people not to get lazy about prevention because the disease still poses a real danger. He wants the ministry to push harder on mosquito control through the holidays and get danger ratings under 25 in sketchy neighborhoods. The Western Region alone handed out 400,000 chlorine tablets to communities dealing with contaminated water.
The minister credits earlier investments in vehicles, foggers, and extra field workers for keeping mosquito-borne diseases...
Usain Bolt and Puma just dropped 5 million Jamaican dollars each on two high schools that got absolutely demolished by Hurricane Melissa. St Elizabeth Technical and William Knibb Memorial both took massive hits, with entire roofs ripped off exam prep buildings, dorms trashed, and walls knocked down.
Bolt has been throwing money at rural Jamaican schools for years through his foundation, and he already gave William Knibb cash earlier for track meet prep. The foundation also hooked up 21 kindergartens with printers and supplies after the pandemic.
Puma signed Bolt when he was 16 back in 2003, and they gave him a lifetime deal in 2021. The brand bankrolls high school track programs across Jamaica and uses Bolt's face for their marketing...
Jamaica's environment minister, Matthew Samuda, looks like a lock to run the UN Environment Assembly after getting backed by Caribbean and American countries. He's the only person up for the gig heading into the vote, and regional delegates seem pretty locked in on supporting him for the top spot at the world's main environmental decision-making body.
Samuda told the assembly that Jamaica got absolutely wrecked by Hurricane Melissa earlier this year, with damages hitting $8.8 billion and wiping out half the country's primary forests. He said the island has been getting hammered by climate disasters lately, with two tropical storms, a Category 4 hurricane, record heat, extreme rain, and multiple brutal droughts all hitting in just four...
Antigua and Barbuda's education minister, Daryll Matthew, just dropped news that the government will cover all CXC exam costs and send refunds to families who already shelled out cash. The country picks up around EC$1.25 million each year for these testing fees, and Matthew says schools will get the money back to students before the holidays hit.
Matthew also said Antigua and Barbuda College of Advanced Studies is ditching entry requirements completely. Anyone can walk in and sign up for programs regardless of grades or ability to pay. Kids who need help in certain subjects get bumped into remedial classes to catch up.
The ministry cut a deal with the University of the West Indies Five Islands Campus to create a direct pathway for...
Guyana's health minister, Dr. Frank Anthony, says the country plans to buy lenacapavir, a long-acting HIV prevention drug that works for six months. The medication currently costs around $25,000 in the US, but authorities want to wait until the patent expires in a year or two to get cheaper access.
Anthony explained that making lenacapavir available could be huge for HIV care, and officials are talking with partners about getting the drug. If they can score it at a lower price, the government would give it out for free. A deal in South Africa has already arranged a $40 version that will hit 120 countries by 2027.
Guyana recorded 449 new HIV cases last year. About 95% of people there know their status, though not everyone who tests...
Jamaica National Group said 40 percent of cash from their ISupportJamaica Fund is getting funneled into early childhood centers hit by Hurricane Melissa, and JN Foundation Chairman Parris Lyew-Ayee told a regional education summit that fixing preschools counts as the most efficient way to boost economic growth while cutting crime rates at the same time. The guy pushed Caribbean officials to treat kiddie education like strategic infrastructure instead of optional spending, warning that societies crumble when governments ignore their youngest learners.
UWI lecturer Zoya Kinkead-Clark mentioned community members opening their homes and porches to restart schools after the storm wrecked facilities, saying these grassroots partnerships hold...
Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley landed at number 99 on the Forbes World's 100 Most Powerful Women list for the third year running, and the ranking puts her next to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen plus European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde at the top spots. Forbes called out her climate advocacy work after she gave a speech at the UN General Assembly demanding urgent action, and she got tagged as Champion of the Earth for Policy Leadership by the UN Environment Programme. The magazine also pointed to her role in pushing Barbados into becoming a parliamentary republic after ditching the Queen of England as head of state.
Mottley started her political grind back when she became Minister of Education...
