PM Holness Urges Tech Evolution, Launches National AI Lab at UTech to Drive Productivity
BY ANTONIO DEY | HGP Nightly News|
KINGSTON, JAMAICA — Emphasizing that long-term prosperity requires an immediate modernization of the structural labor system, Prime Minister Dr. Andrew Holness has called on Jamaicans globally to embrace an integrated culture of baseline productivity, systemic innovation, and digital efficiency.
Delivering the keynote address at the opening of the 11th Biennial Jamaica Diaspora Conference on Tuesday, the Prime Minister insisted that while Jamaica possesses the cultural raw materials and geographic positioning to become a world-class nation, unlocking its full macroeconomic potential demands a profound shift in values and approaches to corporate and civic work.
Central to this structural evolution, Holness highlighted the urgent requirement to aggressively upskill the domestic workforce to remain competitive in a global landscape increasingly dictated by Automation, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and advanced robotics. To anchor this vision, the Prime Minister formally announced the commissioning of the new National Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at the University of Technology (UTech).
He underscored that the state-of-the-art facility will serve as a blueprint for technical training centers nationwide, advocating for early, systemic AI exposure within the primary educational framework to prepare Jamaican youth to navigate the global economy as true digital natives.
T&T Opposition Leader Pennelope Beckles Slams Government’s “Insensitive” Response to Venezuelan Twin Quakes
BY ANTONIO DEY
PORT OF SPAIN, TRINIDAD — Registering strong, public disapproval over the state’s slow foreign policy response, Trinidad and Tobago Opposition Leader Pennelope Beckles has condemned the government’s reaction to the catastrophic seismic events in neighboring Venezuela.
Speaking at a People’s National Movement (PNM) press conference at the Office of the Leader of the Opposition in Port of Spain, Beckles labeled an official diplomatic brief issued by the Ministry of Foreign and CARICOM Affairs as “insensitive” and deeply detached from the scale of the emergency, openly questioning whether the communication had been formally vetted by senior leadership before release.
Beckles argued that, as Venezuela’s closest maritime neighbor—maintaining a fully active diplomatic mission directly in Caracas—Trinidad and Tobago should have led regional relief operations with a clear, highly specific inventory of practical material aid from the outset. Criticizing the administration for a disappointing lack of serious leadership, the Opposition Leader demanded that the state immediately outline the exact scope of medical, logistical, and technical rescue teams it intends to deploy to the disaster zone, noting that smaller regional states had already outpaced Trinidad in delivering tangible humanitarian support.
Death Toll Soars Past 580 in Venezuela Twin Quakes as International Rescue Teams Arrive
BY ANTONIO DEY
CARACAS, VENEZUELA — The humanitarian crisis gripping northern Venezuela has taken an increasingly grim turn. Neighborhood volunteers and emergency workers continue to dig through shattered concrete with their bare hands while the official death toll from Wednesday’s back-to-back earthquakes skyrocketed to at least 589 individuals, with thousands more reported severely injured or missing beneath the rubble.
In a nationwide broadcast delivered early Friday morning, Acting President Delcy Rodríguez officially announced the updated casualty figures, flanked by high-ranking military commanders and foreign diplomats as the first wave of specialized international search-and-rescue teams arrived at Simon Bolivar International Airport.
Seismic Impact Metrics: Northern Venezuela Disaster Zone
- Seismic Magnitudes: Two consecutive, shallow-focus earthquakes measuring 7.2 and 7.5 on the Richter scale, striking in narrow succession on Wednesday evening.
- Epicenter & Impact Hub: The coastal state of La Guaira sustained the most severe architectural damage, with dozens of multi-family residential towers completely pancaked.
- Emergency State Countermeasures: La Guaira has been formally placed under active militarization to maintain civil order, secure supply chains, and systematically distribute critical water and food rations.
- Casualty Tracing: 589 confirmed dead as of Friday morning; medical coordinates show trauma surgeries treating over 3,400 individuals across the central district.
Venezuelan state television has broadcast highly dramatic footage of survival miracles amidst the wreckage—including the extraction of a heavily dust-covered woman who had been completely pinned beneath a massive collapsed concrete slab, spotted by spotters who noticed only her bare foot protruding from the debris.
Despite these desperate triumphs, severe logistical bottlenecks remain a major hurdle. While state-backed military teams have concentrated their heavy excavators inside the central avenues of Caracas, suburban sectors and isolated hillside towns have been left largely dependent on civilian bucket brigades. With thousands of tracking registries still listed as unaccounted for, emergency officials fear the casualty metrics will continue a steep, upward trajectory over the coming days.
