By: Antonio Dey | HGP Nightly News|
Caribbean Affairs:
Representatives from Antigua and Barbuda, Guyana, and Suriname are set to attend the sixth meeting of the Presiding Officers of the Regional Conference on Population and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean, scheduled for October 29–30. The conference, organized by ECLAC in collaboration with the UN Population Fund, will focus on demographic trends and fertility rates in the region. Ahead of the meeting, ECLAC will launch the Demographic Observatory 2025: Low Fertility in Latin America and the Caribbean, which analyzes population data and emerging dynamics.
Haiti:
As Tropical Storm Melissa intensifies and threatens to become a hurricane, the UN’s Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) has allocated US$4 million to aid over 100,000 vulnerable Haitians. The funds will be distributed through the World Food Programme (WFP), UNICEF, and the International Organization for Migration (IOM). The storm, currently moving westward at 50 mph, is forecast to bring heavy rains and flooding to Hispaniola and Jamaica.
International:
In a significant policy shift, U.S. President Donald Trump has imposed sanctions on Russia’s two largest oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil, in response to Moscow’s war in Ukraine. The move immediately drove global oil prices up by nearly 5% and prompted India, the world’s largest importer of Russian seaborne oil, to consider cutting its purchases. The sanctions mark a sharp reversal after Trump’s earlier statement suggesting plans for a peace summit with Vladimir Putin in Budapest.
