BRIDGETOWN – The Caribbean Development Bank has approved a USD5 million loan to support climate-smart agriculture and enterprise business development in Grenada. The project will assist the Government of Grenada in its efforts to increase productivity and the contribution of the agricultural sector to economic growth, rural poverty reduction and environmental sustainability. The International Fund for Agricultural Development will provide additional financing. Male and female farmers and entrepreneurs in some of Grenada’s poorest rural communities will receive technical assistance and financial support, as well as increased opportunities to own and operate businesses and take advantage of employment opportunities in the sector. The project will also promote farmer adoption of new technologies and practices to build resilience to climate change impacts.(cdb)…[+]

The 1000th day of the Yemen civil war was marked by escalating violence including an audacious but unsuccessful Houthi rebel ballistic missile attack aimed at the Saudi king’s official residence in Riyadh. It is the third such missile attack mounted by Houthis inside a month and was intercepted by the Saudi Royal Air Force south of the capital.

Saudi, backed by the US, claim the missiles are being supplied by Iran and have used the alleged leakage of sophisticated weaponry into Houthi hands to justify a blockade on humanitarian and commercial aid going through the port of Hodeida, the key artery for the delivery of aid and fuel for tens of thousands of Yemenis. The missile attack may have been a response to a recent growing Saudi air raids that the UN High Commission for Human Rights claimed had led to 136 civilians killed and another 87 injured in the strikes on Sanaa, Saada, Hodeida, Marib and Taez governorates between December 6 and 16. There is growing evidence that the Saudis are mounting an “escalate to de-escalate” strategy in a bid to bring the deadlocked and multi-layered war to a head. The Saudis, in conjunction with its allies the United Arab Emirates, have been trying to form new political alliances inside Yemen to isolate the Houthis, as well as mounting assaults on Houthi positions south of the capital in Sanaa.(theguardian)…[+]

Satellite images show that dozens of Rohingya villages were burned the week Myanmar signed an agreement with Bangladesh to repatriate hundreds of thousands of refugees, Human Rights Watch has claimed. The evidence that villages were still being damaged as late as 2 December contradicted assurances by the Burmese government that violence had ceased and that the Rohingya could safely return to Myanmar, the watchdog said. Bangladesh and Myanmar signed an agreement on 23 November to begin the process of repatriating some of the estimated 655,000 refugees who fled Myanmar in the past four months.

Burmese soldiers, police and militias have been accused of razing hundreds of villages, gang-raping women and children and killing indiscriminately, in what the US has labelled a campaign of ethnic cleansing. Burmese officials claim the reports of violence are exaggerated and it was largely perpetrated by Rohingya insurgents. The first repatriations under the agreement are due in January, a timetable that human rights groups say is unrealistic and could expose the Muslim minority group to continued persecution, internment or possible forced resettlement. HRW said satellite images showing signs of fires and building destruction in 40 villages in October and November were proof that the Rohingya could not yet safely return.(theguardian)…[+]

The Trump administration will drop climate change from a list of global threats in a new National Security Strategy the president is due to unveil on Monday. Instead, Trump’s NSS paper will emphasis the need for the US to regain its economic competitiveness in the world. That stance represents a sharp change from the Obama administration’s NSS, which placed climate change as one of the main dangers facing the nation and made building international consensus on containing global warming a national security priority.

White House officials said on Sunday the Trump NSS was the culmination of 11 months of collaboration between all the leading security, foreign policy and economic agencies of government. The exclusion of climate change as a national security threat appears however to conflict with views previously expressed by the defense secretary, James Mattis. “Climate change is not identified as a national security threat but climate and the importance of the environment and environmental stewardship are discussed,” a senior administration official said.(theguardian)…[+]

BRIDGETOWN – The Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) has announced a USD18 million (mn) project to improve the quality of, and access to, basic education in Haiti for 68,000 students, particularly those who live in poor and vulnerable communities. It is part of a wider programme of support for the enhancement of basic education in Haiti. The components of the CDB project are aligned with those of the World Bank, which is the primary financer of the programme.

Limited access to education in Haiti has slowed development. Decades of underinvestment in the human resource capacity of the country has led to a significant skills deficit and high levels of unemployment, poverty and inequality.  Inadequate capacity to manage the education system has emerged as a significant issue. In addition, there is need for greater quality assurance and accountability mechanisms in both public and non-public schools, and the monitoring and evaluation of these mechanisms.

The project will address these needs through five components.

Improving institutional capacity and governance by strengthening the technical capacity of relevant units within the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training (MENFP) to improve service delivery and overall educational governance.

Supporting access to quality public primary education in poor and vulnerable communities through the implementation of a community education grants programme; a construction initiative that will create additional primary school places; and a public school improvement model, which will improve access to quality education in selected Departments.

Supporting access to quality non-public primary education in poor and vulnerable communities by developing and implementing quality education access and tuition waiver programmes.(CDB)…[+]

A Moscow court has sentenced a former Russian economy minister to eight years in a high-security prison for corruption, in a verdict that is likely to send chills through the Russian elite. Alexei Ulyukayev was also ordered to pay a $2.2m (£1.7m) fine as part of the punishment for soliciting a $2m bribe from Igor Sechin, the chief executive of the state oil company Rosneft, who is widely seen as the second most powerful man in Russia after Vladimir Putin. Ulyukayev was arrested in a sting operation at Rosneft’s headquarters last year, after Sechin handed him a basket containing $2m in specially marked $100 bills. Sechin said in his testimony that Ulyukayev had asked for the bribe during a game of billiards at a summit in India.The former minister said he had never made any demands and assumed the basket contained sausages or wine. There was little evidence in the case except Sechin’s testimony, and he refused to show up at court despite receiving several summons. He said he was too busy. (Theguardian)…[+]

The lights are already illuminated on Bethlehem’s huge Christmas tree in Manger Square. Nearby, at the narrow entrance to the Church of the Nativity, holiday pilgrims queue daily for their chance to descend into the cramped subterranean shrine said to be the birthplace of Jesus.

One person, however, who will not be entering the church, barring a last-minute diplomatic miracle, is the US vice-president, Mike Pence. A proposed visit to Bethlehem and the Nativity church – now cancelled – had been intended as the highlight of a tour of the Middle East next week. That tour has been thrown into disarray by Donald Trump’s decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and the consequent refusal of Palestinian and many Christian leaders to meet Pence.

Part of the reason is that Pence – who stood next to Trump during his announcement – is seen by Palestinians as having been a key influence on Trump regarding the decision, and appears to have made little effort to repair the damage.(theguardian)…[+]

BRIDGETOWN – The Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) has announced a programme of assistance of USD172 million (mn) for Jamaica over the period 2017 to 2021. These resources will be augmented by GBP17.5 mn (approximately USD22.2 mn) in grants from the United Kingdom Caribbean Infrastructure Partnership Fund (UKCIF). The programme of assistance, outlined in a new Country Strategy Paper, was approved by the Bank’s Board of Directors today.

The Strategy is built around four key pillars, with cross-cutting themes of citizen security, gender equality and energy security. Enhance educational quality and improve the effectiveness of social protection

CDB-supported interventions will focus on improving access to, and the quality of, education. At the community level, the Bank will continue to support initiatives to strengthen local economic development and expand income-earning opportunities for vulnerable groups.

Enhance governance and citizen security

To strengthen implementation capability, CDB will support initiatives being driven by the Government of Jamaica and other international development partners to enhance performance monitoring and public sector efficiency. The Bank will collaborate and leverage the expertise of key stakeholders to implement a comprehensive crime and violence prevention initiative and will consider support to reduce recidivism; build capacity among vulnerable groups; and expand income-earning opportunities for youth.

 Increase inclusive economic growth and competitiveness

CDB will support inclusive economic growth and competitiveness through reforms to improve business innovation; develop climate-resilient economic infrastructure; and improve agricultural productivity, which remains an important contributor to gross domestic product, employment and foreign exchange earnings in Jamaica. Grants from UKCIF will support agricultural development.(theguardian)…[+]

The US’s top media regulator voted to end rules protecting an open internet on Thursday, a move critics warn will hand control of the future of the web to cable and telecoms companies. At a packed meeting of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in Washington, the watchdog’s commissioners voted three to two to dismantle the “net neutrality” rules that prevent internet service providers (ISPs) from charging websites more for delivering certain services or blocking others should they, for example, compete with services the cable company also offers.

Outside, protesters angrily called on Congress to block the FCC’s efforts. Bouquets of flowers littered the grass outside the building, an apparent reference to the “death” of open internet. Posters of the angry-face emoji covered the walkway. And activists carried hand-made signs that read: “Don’t make the internet a private toll road”; “Ajit Pai doesn’t want you to meet your fiancé online”; and “Don’t undermine our democracy – that’s Russia’s job”.(theguardian)…[+]

BRIDGETOWN– The Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) has announced a programme of assistance of USD76.2 million for St. Kitts and Nevis over the period 2017 to 2021. Today, the Bank’s Board of Directors approved the new strategy, which will support economic and social development, environmental protection and infrastructure enhancement.

The proposed programme of assistance is built on three pillars.

1. Economic development and enhanced livelihoods: The Country Strategy is designed to achieve improved macroeconomic and fiscal stability; increased productivity; competitiveness and economic diversification; and improved governance through reforms in areas such as project implementation capacity and procurement.
2. Inclusive social development: The assistance programme will support enhanced education outcomes; closing the gender gap and increasing gender equality; and better protections for the most vulnerable groups in St. Kitts and Nevis.
3. Environmental protection and infrastructure enhancement: Interventions delivered under the Country Strategy will seek to strengthen environmental management and climate-resilient infrastructure, including sea defences, roads, slopes, water and drainage systems, and energy infrastructure.

The Country Strategy is a joint collaboration between the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis and CDB. The Bank consulted with stakeholders, including Government officials and development partners, emphasising country ownership of the proposed programme of assistance. Salient issues that emerged during these discussions, including urgent sector priorities and ongoing interventions supported by other development partners, have been taken into account.(CDB)…[+]