BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – The Barbados-based Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) says increasing administrative capacity, implementing cashless payment systems and user information portals as well as enhancing accessibility for vulnerable populations, form part of a comprehensive framework aimed at sustainably improving public road transportation in the region.

TORTOLA, British Virgin Islands – The Department of Immigration says 20 Haitians were picked up in North Sound area of Virgin Gorda earlier this week, intensifying concerns over human smuggling in the British Virgin Islands.

UNITED NATIONS – Senior officials from the United Nations and the European Union (EU) have appealed for urgent international support for Haiti, saying that the “multifaceted humanitarian catastrophe” in the country requires such a response.

ST. GEORGE’S, Grenada – Prime Minister Gilmar Pisas says Curacao’s accession to the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) as an associate member “is a testament to our shared vision of a united, prosperous, and resilient Caribbean Community”.

PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti – The head of the United Nation’s humanitarian coordination office (OCHA), Abdoulaye Sawadogo, says the entire social fabric of families is unraveling in Haiti as displacement in the country reaches record numbers due largely to insecurity and gang-related violence.

NASSAU, Bahamas – The Bahamas government says it will resume its diplomatic presence in Haiti after its diplomats were evacuated from the French-speaking Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country in March as security in that country deteriorated as criminal gangs sought to overthrow the government.

GEORGETOWN, Guyana – Guyana’s President Irfaan Ali Friday underscored the importance of research and development in the agricultural sector, noting that the region also lacks data when seeking to implement important projects in the sector.

WASHINGTON, DC – The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) says it has approved US$110 million from its grant facility to improve food security, health, and the inclusion of vulnerable children and youth in Haiti.

PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti – Three senior humanitarians Friday appealed for more support for Haiti, where ongoing gang violence in the capital, Port-au-Prince, is affecting the entire population of the French-speaking Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country.

ST.  GEORGE’S, Grenada - The 15-member regional integration movement, CARICOM, Sunday began the second half of its march towards the next 50 years with regional leaders critical of what they presented as a failure of the media to highlight the successes of the bloc.

KINGSTON, Jamaica – Several Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries have indicated a willingness to assist Jamaica restore electricity to areas badly affected by the passage of Hurricane Beryl earlier this month, Energy Minister Daryl Vaz said Wednesday.

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada Thursday urged the international community to provide assistance at little or no cost at all as the Caribbean countries continue their rehabilitation efforts in the wake of a category four storm that left several people dead and millions of US dollars in damages.