Island Press Box

02/04/2026

A rough, overgrown track outside Liberta leads to an unlikely experiment in food security, where one small farm is quietly testing how Antigua and Barbuda might better feed itself through resilient crops, diverse poultry, and locally adapted breeding.

The road was rough, unmarked, rutted and overgrown, barely deserving of the name, it wound through struggling cassie and untamed banana groves, with no hint of what lay ahead. Then, tucked behind Liberta, seemingly miles from anywhere, we arrived to the sudden, deafening chorus of birds. What follow...

26/03/2026

120,000 tons of radioactive debris from American nuclear testing are sealed under a concrete dome on Runit Island in the Marshall Islands. A report by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation documented visible cracks in the dome and elevated radiation levels in surrounding soil. What do we do now?

26/03/2026

05/03/2026

Senior government officials and civil society leaders from across the Caribbean convened on 2–3 March 2026 at the Bay Gardens Hotel in Saint Lucia for the Caribbean Convening on a Global Just Transition from Fossil Fuels, reaffirming the region’s commitment to shaping international cooperation toward a fast, fair, and financed global phase-out of oil, gas and coal.

Caribbean leaders working on climate policy have begun laying the groundwork for the First International Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels, scheduled for April 28–29, 2026, in Santa Marta, Colombia. Earlier this week, they gathered to begin shaping a unified regional position on w...

21/02/2026

Regional leaders have grown more conscious that the Caribbean’s fossil fuel-based energy model is untenable. Within CARICOM member states, conventional energy capacity exceeds renewable capacity by nearly 74 percent.

This feature was done with grant support from the the Caribbean Energy Transition Reporting Initiative (CETRI). St. John's, Antigua - Electricity consumers in the Caribbean pay some of the highest tariffs in the world. With most refined petroleum imported from the United States, retail rates across....

20/02/2026

An oil spill occurred today during the refilling of a tank at Antigua Distillery, with oil reportedly emanating from one section of the facility.

In addition, a contaminant believed to be molasses from the distillery — an ongoing issue that the Development Control Authority (DCA) is said to be monitoring — also flowed toward the ABDF Coast Guard post.

IPB understands that the oil boom that just last week was deployed to stop contaminants from the Cooks Landfill moving farther into sea, had to be redeployed to this area

17/02/2026

Authorities have launched testing, containment and legal measures under the EPMA as they assess environmental and potential health impacts.

The National Office of Disaster Services (NODS) says it has identified the likely cause of the contaminants that flowed from Cook’s Landfill into nearby coastal waters, pointing to what officials believe is cooking oil and other effluent improperly discharged onto mangroves adjacent to the site. D...

14/02/2026

Water quality testing is now underway after coastal waters near Cook’s Landfill were contaminated by what officials describe as petroleum-based pollutants.

St. John's, Antigua - The livelihoods of fishers operating along Antigua’s west coast have been disrupted following a public health order banning fishing and seafood harvesting in waters affected by a contaminant spill linked to Cook’s Landfill. Authorities have prohibited the harvesting, consum...

09/01/2026

An oil spill from a West Indies Oil Company’s (WIOC) lorry in Falmouth Harbour flowed into the sea near the new cruise ship dock on Tuesday, raising concerns among residents and witnesses. The spill reportedly originated from the large fuel truck that routinely reverses up the road to supply vesse...

03/01/2026

On the third day of the new year, the world woke up to news that the United States had “captured” Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia, after launching a large-scale strike on the capital city of Caracas. Maduro and his wife face charges related to alleged drug trafficking a...

24/12/2025

Barbudan fisherman and environmental advocate George Jeffrey has died while awaiting a High Court ruling in a landmark legal challenge against a planned luxury residential development by English developer Henry Anderson. Jeffrey passed away on Monday, December 22, 2025. He was a resident of Barbuda....

16/12/2025

Forbes is scheduled to appear before Justice Ann Marie Smith for sentencing on February 20th. The conviction carries significant weight as prosecutors prepare to pursue the remaining three murder charges against him.

A jury has found 31-year-old Delano Forbes guilty of murdering post office worker Maurison Thomas, bringing an end to weeks of dramatic testimony in a case that has gripped the nation since 2018. This is his first conviction in a series of four murders allegedly committed by Forbes between 2017 and....