KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent - The prime minister ministers of Barbados and St. Vincent and the Grenadines will be among 20 leaders invited by Colombia to discuss the ongoing tensions between the United States and Venezuela, Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves has said.

BELMOPAN, Belize -Prime Minister John Briceno says the present cost of living crisis is arguably the greatest challenge facing the region and that it can only be overcome when like-minded and progressive leaders work together.

ST. GEORGE’S, Grenada – The United States Ambassador to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, Linda S. Taglialatela, Wednesday recommended that member countries of the Bridgetown-based Regional Security System (RSS) update their cyber-crime laws.

ST. JOHN’S, Antigua – The Director General of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), Dr. Didacus Jules, Tuesday, said no government can realistically be blamed for the increases in poverty as well as the reversal in health and nutrition “in this time of volatility and uncertainty”.

WASHINGTON, DC – The World Bank says Latin America and Caribbean economies have proven relatively resilient in the wake of increasing debt stress, inflation and rising global uncertainty.

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados - The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) says Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) may miss out on the benefits of the “green tech” revolution unless governments and the international community take decisive action now.

PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti – The United Nations and its partners are to launch an appeal for US$720 million to support more than three million people in Haiti, where gangs, hunger, and cholera have plunged nearly half the population into humanitarian need.

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – Trinidad and Tobago will host the 50^th anniversary celebrations of CARICOM that coincides with the annual summit to be held in July this year.

UNITED NATIONS – St. Kitts-Nevis has called on the international community to do more to help countries in the Caribbean, Latin America and Africa close the digital divide as efforts to enhance gender equality are pursued.

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad – CARICOM Secretary General, Dr. Carla Barnett, Friday, said while much has been achieved in the past 50 year, the stories of regional success must be continuously shared across the 15-member CARICOM grouping “to serve as a constant reminder of what we can achieve with unity of purpose, as we rise to the challenge of the new era”.

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – The World Food Programme (WFP) is warning that  a growing crisis is pushing a higher number of people into hunger in Haiti.

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – The Deputy Secretary General for Economic and Global Issues of the European Union’s External Action Service (EEAS),  Helena König, Tuesday said the European Union is committed to assisting its security partners in the Caribbean.