By Deodat Maharaj

News Americas, Gebze, Türkiye, Weds. March. 18, 2026:  Multilateralism as we know it is going through a seismic shift. Old alliances are being tested with clearly defined spheres of influence emerging. Whilst this represents a shock to the established world order, most wealthy countries will continue to fare well, though arguably with diminished geopolitical influence. However, the poorest and most vulnerable countries, like the Least Developed Countries, (LDCs), and Small Islands Developing States, (SIDS), risk becoming even more marginalized.  The question arises, how can this group of countries navigate this increasingly complex and fast-changing global setting?

To start with, there must be a clear recognition in the foreign policies of these countries that it is not an “either-or” option. Of course, traditional alliances must be consolidated. Trade and investment data confirm that regions like the Caribbean must continue to engage with the United States, which provides significant investment and remains a lucrative export market. Geographical proximity also leaves no other option. Similarly,  countries in Asia continue to see increasing trade and investment links with China, and this relationship will become stronger in the coming years

However, for both economic and diplomatic reasons, developing countries – especially LDCs and SIDS – must leverage additional options by building new global partnerships. A natural partner in this endeavor is the Global South. We are already seeing some efforts toward greater connections in the Global South. Africa provides a good example, given its efforts at regional integration via Agenda 2063 and the establishment of the African Continental Free Trade Area. However, even these efforts must be accelerated, with systematic efforts also made to foster cross-regional collaboration across the Global South.  

Leveraging South-South Solutions For Transformation.

It goes without saying that the benefit could be immense in leveraging South-South solutions for transformation at the national level. Indeed, some of the most innovative and scalable development solutions are emerging from the Global South itself, proving that developing countries are not just recipients, but also providers of knowledge and cutting-edge, relevant technology.  

South-South Cooperation offers solutions born from similar development contexts. Whether in digital public infrastructure, agricultural technology, renewable energy, or health innovation, countries across the Global South have developed practical, cost-effective, and scalable approaches that respond directly to local realities. For example, Nepal has become a regional pioneer in telemedicine, expanding access to healthcare in remote mountainous communities through digital health platforms that connect rural clinics with urban specialists. Bangladesh’s Solar Home System, widely recognized as a case study for off-grid electrification, provides clean energy to over 20 million people. India’s digital public infrastructure has enabled hundreds of millions of to access financial services. Rwanda has pioneered the use of drone technology to deliver medical supplies to remote areas.

These all represent low-cost, high-impact practical solutions that are generating transformation in countries across the Global South. With high debt burdens and acute fiscal constraints, developing countries can ill afford high-cost and unsustainable development solutions. These examples illustrate how innovation emerging from the Global South can offer scalable solutions to shared development challenges, and when shared across borders through South-South collaboration, they become powerful drivers of collective progress. This peer-based exchange reduces the gap between policy design and implementation. It accelerates learning, and most importantly, it reinforces ownership – a cornerstone of sustainable development.

South-South Cooperation As A Multiplier

Science, Technology, and Innovation have become, over the years, fundamental drivers of structural transformation. However, many LDCs face systemic barriers: fragmented innovation ecosystems, limited research infrastructure, insufficient digital skills, and weak links between academia, government and the private sector. At the same time, new innovation hubs, digital start-ups and technology partnerships are emerging across the Global South, providing valuable lessons on replication for other developing countries.

Regional and global technology networks, joint research initiatives, digital skills partnerships, and innovation training programmes can help these countries accelerate their development trajectory.  Collaboration among universities, innovation hubs, and policymakers across the Global South can foster ecosystems that no country can build alone.

Institutions such as the United Nations Technology Bank  act as a “connector” — linking LDCs with centers of excellence in the Global South, facilitating peer learning, and supporting platforms where innovation can travel across borders, such as  connecting African innovation hubs with Asian digital expertise

Re-Thinking Foreign Policy With  A Focus On The Global South

As noted at the beginning, it is important to consolidate established foreign policy partnerships. However, now more than ever, it is an imperative for LDCs and SIDS to build strong partnerships in the Global South. In addition to leveraging knowledge and development solutions, these partnerships or coalitions will help amplify shared concerns and issues by speaking with one voice on the international stage. This is especially vital for LDCs and SIDS, which are either too poor or too small to have a strong voice when speaking individually. Collectively, they are indeed stronger. Hence, the need for new partnerships and alliances in these trying and complex times.

In essence, strengthening South-South Cooperation unlocks new pathways toward inclusive development – pathways defined not by dependency but by partnership.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Deodat Maharaj, a national of Trinidad and Tobago, is the Managing Director of the United Nations Technology Bank for the Least Developed Countries and can be reached at: deodat.maharaj@un.org

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By Dr. Isaac Newton

News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Tues. Mar. 17, 2026: The square is quiet. Campaign banners sway lightly in the wind. Loudspeakers carry rehearsed promises, yet their echoes meet only empty chairs. At first glance, the silence might appear as disinterest. In reality, it is something far more powerful. The Caribbean people are speaking without words in a democracy. Their silence is not disengagement. It is careful observation, deliberate judgment, and the slow emergence of accountability.

Every empty chair, every vote withheld, every pause from public involvement carries meaning. In small states where decisions affect everyday life immediately, silence is intentional. It is attentive. It is measured. It is a lens through which citizens examine leadership. Praise can be orchestrated. Silence cannot. Speeches seek to persuade. Silence compels reflection. Noise rewards showmanship. Silence demands substance.

Silence as Moral Pressure

Citizens have been watching. They have witnessed initiatives launched with fanfare yet executed inconsistently. They have heard confident promises while confronting rising living costs, fragile infrastructure, and overstretched public services. They have seen leadership maintained through habit rather than achievement.

In coastal villages, fishermen study the sea before venturing out. Its calm surface conceals currents that can turn swiftly. Public life operates in a similar way. Citizens assess the outcomes of leadership quietly. A teacher considers whether reforms improve learning. A small business owner evaluates whether policies foster opportunity or create obstacles. A farmer weighs whether infrastructure and planning support production or hinder it.

These assessments may not fill headlines, but they shape collective judgment. Leadership is measured less by visibility and more by impact. Trust is built by the combination of words and results. Silence can carry moral authority in small states because it reflects careful evaluation over time.

The Paradox of Quiet Engagement

Silence is often misunderstood as disengagement. In many cases it reflects deeper involvement. When public enthusiasm diminishes, scrutiny increases. Conversations continue in homes, workplaces, classrooms, and community gatherings where perspectives solidify and decisions are quietly formed.

Periods of quiet observation often precede significant change. Silence allows citizens to reframe expectations and reassess leadership. They ask whether those in power can anticipate challenges rather than merely react to them. They examine whether institutions are strengthened or left vulnerable. They judge whether decisions serve long-term needs rather than immediate convenience.

Silence does not end participation. It reshapes it. Those who step back are often considering the consequences of leadership more deeply than those who speak loudly.

When Silence Becomes Strategy

Silence gains influence when it transforms into deliberate action. Communities can create spaces for discussion that clarify local priorities and national goals. Civil society organizations can turn citizen observation into evidence that strengthens transparency. Digital tools can track patterns of inefficiency that once went unnoticed.

In this context, silence is strategic assessment and withdrawal careful observation. Citizens engage selectively. They support actions that demonstrate competence and fairness. They refrain from endorsing initiatives that rely on image rather than achievements. Leaders are presented with a choice. They can ignore the quiet scrutiny or they can treat it as a guide. Those who observe and respond gain insight into where institutions need correction and where trust must be rebuilt.

The Power of Patient Accountability

Silence carries a weight that public outcry rarely achieves. It does not erupt suddenly. It accumulates observation over time and evaluates leadership across months and years.

For small states facing climate pressures, economic volatility, and technological change, this quiet attention is essential. Leaders must invest in strong institutions, capable people, and durable systems. Authority is maintained by tradition and sustained by consistent results and clear responsibility.

In a democracy, silence is scarcely emptiness. It is measured attention. It is the work of judgment, the calculated weighing of promises against outcomes, and the patient formation of public expectations. It rises gradually, shaping the decisions of leaders before visible consequences appear. Those who disregard it often realize its influence only when opportunities to respond have passed.

Questions for Reflection

How can careful observation and selective engagement shape leadership that serves the public interest?

What actions can citizens take to ensure their silence supports accountability rather than passivity?

How can awareness of political realities be transformed into concrete efforts that strengthen institutions and communities?

Editor’s Note: Dr. Isaac Newton is a leadership strategist, educator, and public speaker specializing in governance, institutional transformation, and ethical leadership. Trained at Harvard, Princeton, and Columbia, Dr. Newton brings a multidisciplinary perspective to leadership development across the public, private, academic, and faith-informed sectors. He is the coauthor of Steps to Good Governance, a work exploring practical frameworks for accountability, transparency, and institutional effectiveness. Dr. Newton has designed and delivered seminars for corporate boards, educators, public officials, and community leaders throughout the Caribbean and internationally. His work integrates insights from leadership research, psychology, public policy, and ethics to equip leaders to guide institutions through uncertainty with clarity, courage, and measurable impact.

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News Americas, MIAMI, FL, Mon. March 16, 2026: A Florida high school teacher has been sentenced to more than a year in prison after admitting she helped purchase firearms that were ultimately smuggled into Trinidad and Tobago, highlighting growing concerns about the role of U.S. gun trafficking networks fueling crime across the Caribbean.

Shannon Nicole Samlalsingh, 47, was sentenced to one year and one day in federal prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to make false statements to a firearm dealer, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

U.S. District Judge William F. Jung also ordered Samlalsingh to forfeit the firearms she purchased as part of the scheme.

Federal prosecutors say Samlalsingh, who at the time was a Hillsborough County high school teacher in Tampa, purchased multiple weapons on behalf of a Trinidad-based transnational criminal organization.

Court documents show she falsely claimed on federal firearms purchase forms that the weapons were for her personal use. Instead, investigators say the guns were handed over to members of the criminal network and later smuggled into Trinidad and Tobago.

The case sheds light on the illegal flow of U.S. firearms into Caribbean nations, a growing regional security concern.

Authorities in Trinidad and Tobago intercepted part of the weapons shipment in April 2022 at Piarco International Airport. Customs officials discovered an alarming cache of weapons hidden inside two punching bags in a shipment arriving from the United States.

The seizure included:

• Eleven 9mm pistols
• Two .38 caliber revolvers
• A semi-automatic shotgun
• Multiple AR-15 components and magazines
• Hundreds of rounds of ammunition

Investigators determined that four of the seized pistols had been purchased directly by Samlalsingh.

The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, (HSI) and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), with assistance from the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and other law enforcement agencies.

The prosecution comes at a time when Caribbean governments are intensifying calls for stronger cooperation with the United States to combat the flow of illegal weapons and narcotics through regional transshipment corridors.

In Trinidad and Tobago, authorities have been grappling with rising concerns over arms trafficking linked to organized crime networks.

US RADAR REMOVED

Those concerns have also shaped broader regional security cooperation with Washington.

Last year, the United States deployed a military-grade radar system at ANR Robinson International Airport in Tobago aimed at helping local authorities detect drug trafficking flights and maritime smuggling routes, particularly those connected to Venezuela.

The radar, which used drone and satellite technology to monitor regional airspace, was part of a broader effort to strengthen surveillance across the southern Caribbean.

However, recent reports indicate the system has now been dismantled, with a U.S. military aircraft expected to transport the equipment out of Tobago.

The removal comes amid shifting regional security dynamics following the U.S. military’s detention of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro earlier this year on drug-related charges.

Despite the radar’s removal, Trinidad and Tobago officials have continued to press Washington for increased security support.

Speaking at the Americas Counter Cartel Conference in Miami, Defence Minister Wayne Sturge called for additional U.S. assets to help Caribbean nations combat organized crime networks operating in the region.

“If we are to deliver effectively as the security anchor in the southern Caribbean, we require assets that would equip us with the capability to disrupt the cartels in the transshipment corridors,” Sturge said.

Cases like Samlalsingh’s illustrate the complex challenge Caribbean governments face – confronting criminal networks that rely heavily on weapons purchased legally in the United States before being trafficked south.

Security experts say the case underscores the need for stronger monitoring of firearms purchases and enhanced cooperation between U.S. and Caribbean law enforcement agencies to disrupt the illicit pipeline feeding regional crime.

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By Derrick Nicholas

News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Sat. Mar. 14, 2026: I recently wrote an article entitled ‘Gadgets Creating More Problems in Education’.  In it, I made the case that technology through the steady introduction of electronic devices was threatening to reduce the gains that traditional learning had brought.

The article went on to make the case that dependence on electronic device has led to students’ inability to develop their critical thinking skills.  Simple foundational tasks now require an electronic device of one kind or another. 

Compounding the problem even further, is the Caribbean Examinations Council, (CXC) sanctioning the ‘limited use’ of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the preparation of candidates’ school-based assessments, (SBAs).  

We in this region seem to be quickly heading down a slippery slope from which we may never recover.   Meanwhile in Denmark they have taken the bold decision to go in the opposite direction.  The government has banned cellphones in classrooms, as well as other electronic devices.  They are being replaced by traditional textbooks and students’ God given ability to think independent of another human being.

The decision to return to traditional textbooks instead of tablets and other digital devices was based on the fact that, over a period of one decade it was observed that students have trouble concentrating.  Additionally, it was found that most students, instead of focusing on their classwork would be watching a video or worse.

In Denmark, computers are used sparingly and ALWAYS under supervision.  The data suggest that Danish teens spend an average of five hours per day on their electronic devices, and their mental health has been worsened according to the Children’s Wellbeing Commission.

Textbooks have long been the cornerstone of educational resources, providing structured and comprehensive content that supports learning.  Textbooks offer a coherent flow of information, guiding students through complex topics in a systematic manner.  This helps students build upon their knowledge incrementally, reinforcing concepts.  For example, mathematics textbooks often introduce fundamental concepts before advancing to more complex theories.  This enable students to develop a strong foundation before tackling more challenging problems.

Textbooks provide detailed explanations, examples and exercises that promote critical thinking and problem-solving skills.  Textbooks serve as valuable tools for long-term retention of information.  Studies have shown that physical textbooks can enhance learning by reducing distractions that often accompany electronic devices.

Harvard University professor, Steven Pinker agrees with this assertion.  He admits: “students do read less…they spend more time on extracurricular activities than on classwork.” Professor Pinker agrees with something that I have been saying for a long time “taking notes leads to better memory than using a screen.”  He cites the principle of cognitive psychology: “when you have to think about something, you have got to process its meaning, when it’s not just a bunch of words, then you actually remember better.”

If we are to overcome the other challenges in education, we must find a way to make students read more.  One sure way of achieving this goal, is by getting our students to read from actual textbooks, instead of an online version which is placed on Google Classroom.  The tactile experience of flipping through pages can aid in memory retention, as students are more likely to engage with the material actively.

Antigua and Barbuda and indeed the rest of the OECS, need to go in the direction where the evidence points – not backwards.  Our students deserve no less.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Mr. Nicholas is a proud graduate of the Antigua Grammar School, Antigua State College, and the Antigua and Barbuda International Institute of Technology. A dedicated private mathematics tutor, he is passionate about helping students move from foundational understanding to confident mastery. Committed to the renewal of critical thinking among young people, Mr. Nicholas is also a political strategist and public speaker who contributes thoughtful insight to conversations on education, leadership, and national development.

By Dr. Isaac Newton

News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Fri. Mar. 13, 2026: Across the world, institutions are navigating a period of profound uncertainty. Economies shift rapidly, technology disrupts industries, and citizens demand real solutions from the institutions meant to serve them. Families seek stability. Governments face rising expectations. Businesses must innovate constantly. Faith-based organizations, nonprofits, and universities are under pressure to remain relevant in communities whose needs evolve quickly. In such a climate, leadership cannot simply manage activity. Leadership must provide direction. Organizations do not move forward because people are busy. They move forward because leaders clarify where they are going and why it matters.

The most impactful leaders understand a simple principle: lead the destination, not the details. Leadership begins by defining the purpose that guides decisions and unites effort. A leader cannot possess all the answers in a complex world, but a leader can ensure that the mission is unmistakably clear. When people understand the destination, they begin to align their thinking, creativity, and energy toward achieving it. Direction does not suppress initiative; direction releases it. In families, parents who establish clear values while allowing children responsibility cultivate confidence and maturity. In business, executives who define strategic priorities and empower skilled teams to execute within them unlock innovation and speed. In government, leaders who articulate national goals that align policy, investment, and citizen participation create momentum for development.

Micromanagement represents the opposite instinct. It emerges when leaders attempt to control every task, supervise every decision, and review every detail. Often, this behavior grows from pressure and fear of failure. Yet its effects are predictable. Micromanagement turns capable professionals into permission seekers. Decisions slow. Creativity diminishes. Talented people disengage because their judgment is never truly trusted. Institutions rarely collapse overnight under micromanagement. Instead, they quietly stagnate while more adaptive organizations move ahead.

Research on leadership behavior consistently shows that transformational and directional leaders focus on outcomes rather than processes. They lay the roadmap but allow their followers to apply their own footprints. They clarify goals, empower capable people, and measure results. By contrast, micromanaging leaders devote disproportionate energy to minor procedures while losing sight of the larger purpose. Over time, this approach produces cultures of dependency rather than responsibility. People wait to be told what to do instead of stepping forward with initiative. In environments that demand innovation and agility, such cultures inevitably fall behind.

Directional leadership requires three simple disciplines. First, clarify the destination. Leaders must define a small number of priorities that explain what success looks like. Second, trust capable people. Responsibility must be delegated to those with the expertise to act. Third, measure results. Directional leaders evaluate outcomes rather than controlling every step of the process. These practices apply across every institution that shapes society. Families flourish when values guide behavior and responsibility is shared. Businesses thrive when talented employees are empowered to solve problems. Governments accelerate development when citizens and institutions participate actively in building the future. Universities, faith communities, and nonprofit organizations remain relevant when their work addresses real needs in the lives of people.

Leadership ultimately reveals itself in how power is used. The leader who tries to control every detail becomes the bottleneck of progress. The leader who provides direction multiplies the strength of others. In a world defined by complexity and rapid change, societies cannot rely on leaders who suffocate initiative. They require leaders who clarify the destination, trust people to move toward it, and release the collective intelligence of the communities they serve. Direction creates momentum. Momentum builds the future.

Editor’s Note: Dr. Isaac Newton is a leadership strategist, educator, and public speaker specializing in governance, institutional transformation, and ethical leadership. Trained at Harvard, Princeton, and Columbia, Dr. Newton brings a multidisciplinary perspective to leadership development across the public, private, academic, and faith-based sectors. He is the coauthor of Steps to Good Governance, a work that explores practical frameworks for accountability, transparency, and institutional effectiveness. Dr. Newton has designed and delivered seminars for corporate boards, educators, public officials, and community leaders throughout the Caribbean and internationally. His work integrates insights from leadership research, psychology, public policy, and faith-informed ethics to equip leaders to guide organizations through uncertainty with clarity, courage, and measurable impact.

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