By Antonio Dey | HGP Nightly News |
Tonight’s regional and international news highlights a worsening humanitarian crisis in Haiti, critical electoral safeguards in Barbados, and a major shift in U.S. environmental policy. Here is your evening news brief.
Haiti: UNICEF Reports Tripling of Child Recruitment
A “devastating” new report from UNICEF reveals that the recruitment of children by armed gangs in Haiti tripled over the past year. Driven by extreme poverty and the collapse of state services, the crisis is robbing an entire generation of their future.
- Statistical Surge: Between 30% and 50% of armed group members are now estimated to be children, some as young as nine years old.
- Roles in Conflict: Gangs—which now control roughly 90% of Port-au-Prince—utilize children for a variety of roles, including spying, guarding abductees, and active combat.
- Mass Displacement: The violence has displaced 1.4 million people in Haiti, more than half of whom are children, making them easy targets for recruitment.
Barbados: CARICOM Observers Address Voter List Integrity
As Barbados prepares for its upcoming polls, a three-member CARICOM Elections Observer Mission has arrived to oversee the process. Mission Chief Ian Hughes addressed mounting public concern regarding the final voters’ list.
- The Mandate: While the mission will address concerns over missing names and list integrity, Hughes emphasized that they will not intervene in the polling process. Their role is strictly to observe and provide formal recommendations.
- Timeline: The final register is expected to be completed today (Friday) and issued to political parties and the public by Saturday.
- Oversight: Chief Electoral Officer Sherland Turton and EBC Chairman Ramon Alleyne have both pledged full cooperation with the regional observers to ensure a transparent process.
International: Trump Revokes U.S. Vehicle Emission Standards
In what environmental advocates are calling the most extensive climate policy rollback in American history, the Trump administration has officially repealed the finding that greenhouse gas emissions threaten human health.
- EPA Action: Under Administrator Lee Zeldin, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has eliminated the federal tailpipe emission standards that were the cornerstone of the previous administration’s climate strategy.
- Economic Impact: Critics, including EDF President Fred Krupp, warn that the move will lead to higher insurance costs and more severe weather events, harming American families in the long term.
- Policy Shift: The move effectively undermines the Biden-era goal of cutting passenger-vehicle emissions by 50% by 2032 and eliminates the forecast that over half of new vehicles sold by 2032 would be electric.
