Rashaed Esson
Staff Writer

With the ongoing conflict between Guyana and Venezuela, reports indicate that Guyana is strengthening its military capabilities, acquiring equipment from overseas.

The most recent development is the signing of a $42 million deal with France, to acquire an offshore military patrol vessel set to be put in commission in 2025 alongside two metal shark military patrol vessels from the United States, that are scheduled to arrive in a matter of weeks, as highlighted in reports.

Venezuela, weeks ago, in the Netherlands, filed a legal defense for its claims to Essequibo at the World  Court and ironically, this agreement between Guyana and France came the same day, mere hours ahead of Venezuela’s plans.

Venezuela’s move was highlighted on the social media platform X by Vice President Delcy Rodriguez, who expressed that documents will be presented showing Venezuela’s right for Essequibo.

She described the arrival of the Venezuelan delegation in the Netherlands as one to “deliver the historical truth.”

This came after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on December 1, 2023, ordered that Venezuela must not take any action that could alter the status quo in Essequibo.

Speaking at a recent military officers conference, President Irfaan Ali expressed that his country’s current efforts are a show of its dedication to defend itself.

“As we grow, the threats are going to become more sophisticated. While we are a peaceful state, no one should underestimate our resolve at protecting our territory and safeguarding national sovereignty. Let not our peaceful intent be mistaken for weakness. As I said recently, we will not bend to threats nor cower in the face of intimidation,” he maintained according to reports.

Additionally, Guyana has ordered medium range helicopters, four of them, from the Bell Corporation of Texas as well as night vision tech and long range drones among other high tech equipment.

Adding to that are transport planes from India. In fact, in recent weeks, on March 31st, Ali posted on Facebook that two Dornier 228 planes arrived from The Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), to the Guyana Defence Force, at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport.

These are major developments for Guyana which arrived after top western and American government officials visited the island over the past few months. Included in the list of visitors are U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, CIA Director William. J. Burns and  U.S. Southern Military Commander General, Laura Richardson.

For Immediate Release

April 11, 2024

The Sandals Corporate University (SCU) continues to make significant strides through their multimillion-US dollar project with EON Reality following a recent signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between The University of the West Indies (The UWI) Global Campus (UWIGC) and the SCU.

The two-year agreement will allow both institutions to work together to explore and implement mutually rewarding initiatives focused on the development of extended reality projects, using the EON Reality platform.

The MoU, signed during a ceremony hosted at Sandals Barbados, provides a framework for The UWI Global Campus and the SCU to facilitate further cooperation in education and training initiatives across the Caribbean region. Dr. Luz Longsworth, Senior Corporate Director for the SCU, described the event as a historical one, where two great organizations come together to achieve great things. “Both institutions have much in common which allows us to join forces to impact the sustainability of our region. We focus on the development and education of our people and countries of this beautiful Caribbean. This MoU will create a framework for the SCU and The UWI Global Campus to work towards coordinating digital and technology related projects and initiatives across campuses and across the Sandals group.”

Dr. Longsworth went on to share the major areas the MoU will cover, “The UWI Global Campus will provide technical input and subject matter expertise for the development of 3D assets and 360-degree experiences in the development of hospitality training content specifically relating to rooms, food and beverage, bookings, watersports, and others. In turn, the SCU and Sandals will provide internship programmes for students, faculty, and staff at various levels. The MoU also makes provisions for collaborating with other institutions to foster an appreciation of new and emerging technological opportunities in the hospitality industry and to help in the understanding of how tourism can aid in environmental protection, climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies. Finally, it will facilitate the use of technology, including without limitation, AR, VR, XR and AI to boost corporate social responsibility efforts,” she added.

Dr Francis O. Severin, Pro Vice-Chancellor and Principal of The UWI Global Campus, expressed his gratitude for this revolutionary opportunity to collaborate with the SCU. He shared, “in 2021 The UWI Global Campus made a decision to invest in advanced digital skills for its faculty to help prepare students academically for emerging digital technologies. It is even more important now to introduce and encourage skills to leverage platforms and technologies to generate digitally created goods and services for global audiences. This allows us to eliminate traditional barriers to productive participation like location, gender, and disabilities. These are the values we hold true which opens opportunities to collaborate with likeminded organizations. By harmoniously weaving into the teaching, technological and applied research capacities of the University through XR, AI and other emerging platforms alongside the SCU, we have no doubt we will be better able to support the movement of the Caribbean curriculum.”

He concluded by stating that The UWI Global Campus’ intention is to establish an immersive learning centre for staff, students, and stakeholders to learn, train and perform as efficiently and effectively as possible. “This will be the first of its kind for the region and will usher in a new approach to education and training that engages learners in experiential environments,” he said.

So far, both parties have already begun working on its first of many initiatives, the Digital Immersive Virtual Enhancement (DIVE) Project. Through this project, recorded experiences showcasing coral reefs, dive spots and protected areas will be used to showcase the beauty of underwater experience for tourism purposes but also used to protect the environment through training. It serves as a response to ecological challenges facing our region due to climate change, human impact, and natural disasters.

Garfield Ekon
Staff Writer

Close to 90,000 people displaced across 87 sites in the Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, are in desperate needs, according to the United Nations (UN) Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

It said more than half of those displaced are women, and a third of them are children, and as the rainy season underway in Haiti, the risk of flooding is another threat to displaced people and those in the most disadvantaged areas. Despite the challenges, the humanitarian response continues.

Yesterday, the World Food Programme (WFP) delivered more than 14,000 hot meals to displaced people in the capital area, as well as 226,000 school lunches across the country.

Meanwhile, the World Food Programme, through logistics partners and the UN Humanitarian Response Depot has facilitated air transport of humanitarian supplies into the country, through Cap-Haïtien, in northern Haiti.

The operation began last Friday, with supplies from the Pan American Health Organization/WHO in Panama, as well as the International Organization for Migration.

Chaos engulfing the country has been bubbling for more than a year, as Haiti’s ability to govern itself continues to grow, particularly after a series of natural disasters and an increasingly dire humanitarian emergency.

Ongoing conflicts and natural disasters have displaced approximately 362,000 people within the country, pushed Haiti’s health system to the brink of collapse, forced the closure of three major hospitals, while armed attacks and shortages of medicine and staff have led to scaling back or the shutdown of many health centers.