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Rebranded LIAT 2020 (Leeward Islands Air Transport) is set to enhance its regional connectivity by launching flights to 11 new destinations, including Guyana, beginning in September 2024.

This significant expansion aims to provide travelers with greater access across the Caribbean, catering to both business and leisure markets.

CEO Hafsaf Abdulsalam announced on Tuesday that flights will be launched to five additional islands after serving Antigua for some time, including St. Lucia, Barbados, Grenada, Dominica, and St. Kitts and Nevis.

“We will expand further into larger Caribbean territories in the south, adding 11 new destinations in September,” Abdulsalam explained. The expansion will include Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago, and the airline plans to grow its fleet.

“By the end of year one, we aim to introduce our new generation E2 195 narrow-body aircraft, a 128-seater. This will allow us to expand flights to Panama and, hopefully, with ECCA’s Cat 1 status, to Miami, Puerto Rico, and the British Virgin Islands,” Abdulsalam said.

The CEO also emphasized that while ticket prices will remain competitive and affordable, the airline aims to be sustainable and profitable. They are seeking exemptions from other governments to benefit travelers.

The newly formed LIAT 2020 made its inaugural flight to St. Lucia in August, signalling the return to the skies of the inter-regional airline.

[Extracted and modified by Antigua News Room]

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Persons undergoing training through WIIN

The initiative is designed to promote financial independence and reduce the gender gap in traditionally male-dominated sectors like construction.

Training is being offered in carpentry, masonry, welding, plumbing, and electrical work, with hands-on classes of at least 25 participants.

The programme targets women aged 17 and older, who are required to be able-bodied and have valid identification, such as an identification card or passport.

Beyond technical skills, participants will also benefit from business literacy training through the ministry’s business incubator. This component will equip them with the tools to create and sustain successful business ventures.

Upon completion, the women will be supported in either pursuing entrepreneurial opportunities or securing employment.

Those interested in the programme can register via a QR code available on the ministry’s Facebook page or online through this link, https://docs.google.com/…/1FAIpQLSdwwO8l6Ci…/viewform. The deadline for registration is October 16, 2024.

Persons undergoing training through WIIN

The government has made significant progress in empowering both women and men through various initiatives. In the first half of 2024, 510 women received skills training through the Board of Industrial Training (BIT) and WIIN, enhancing their employability.

Additionally, 103 women benefitted from mentoring, coaching, and entrepreneurship support through the WIIN business incubator.

Some 2,370 women are expected to begin skills training, 3,000 to benefit from business clinics, and 1,161 to receive business startup kits by the end of the year.

Additionally, four women with disabilities received small business loan financing, while seven women accessed the Loans Guarantee Programme.

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Police in Regional Division #6 successfully dismantled a large cannabis farm during an extensive eradication exercise conducted at Bartica along the Berbice River.

The operation resulted in the destruction of a cannabis plantation estimated to be worth $17 million.

The farm, covering approximately seven acres, contained around 50,000 cannabis plants, varying in height from three inches to six feet. In addition to the plants, authorities discovered several farming tools, three camps, and ten live 12-gauge cartridges at the site.

The cannabis plants, along with the associated farming equipment and camps, were set ablaze as part of the eradication efforts. The recovered cartridges have been secured at the police station for further investigation.

As of now, no arrests have been made in connection with the operation.

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Oxford Languages announces its latest Oxford English Dictionary (OED) update.

The oldest Guyanese English words to be added in this batch of new additions to the OED are shared with other varieties of English. In the Caribbean, especially in Guyana, the word belna refers to a rolling pin used to flatten out dough for baking into roti. This word, earliest seen in 1872, was borrowed into Caribbean English from Hindi, and is therefore also used in Indian English, where the form belan is also widely used. The word feg (1875), meaning a segment of an orange or other citrus fruit, or a clove of garlic, was originally used in northeastern England, though today it is now chiefly used in the Caribbean, particularly in Guyana, as well as in Anguilla and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Among Afro-Guyanese communities, queh-queh (1954) refers to a traditional set of celebrations held before a wedding, involving the betrothed couple with their families and friends, and typically including feasting, drinking, dancing, and bawdy songs. The word probably originates in a West African language, although no etymon for it has yet been traced.  Another Guyanese English word of unknown origin is typee (1970), a noun signifying an intense infatuation or lovesickness. When used as a modifier, it can also designate a genre of romantic music. It is said to be from a language of India in certain sources, but just as with queh-queh, no specific etymon has been identified.

A caddy ole punch (1991) is a home-made paper kite, typically constructed from the pages of a schoolbook and stems of a coconut tree leaf, and flown by children as part of Guyana’s kite-flying tradition on or around Easter Monday. Guyanese children also enjoy playing a game resembling tag or hide-and-seek, which they call ketcha (1979), an alteration of catcher. These children are taught not to be hard ears (1868)—unwilling to listen, disobedient, or stubborn—and not to speak or refer to a person full-mouth (1960)—using only his or her first name, without a respectful title or form of address, which in the Caribbean is considered to be improper or rude.

Foreday morning (1916) is early morning, especially before dawn, when a very early breakfast might be enjoyed – perhaps with a butter flap (1978), a soft, slightly sweet, buttery white bread that is folded before baking, commonly known as coco bread elsewhere in the Caribbean, or with a salara (1985),  a type of sweet bread made with a white yeast dough, spread with a filling of sweetened and spiced coconut dyed a vibrant red, and rolled up into a cylinder to form a spiral cross-section when sliced.

In Guyana, a towel (2011) is a colloquial term for a banknote; specifically, a Guyanese one-thousand-dollar bill. These towels can be given away as prags (1990)—handouts to people in need. The word can also refer to unofficial or fringe benefits that come with a position of authority, especially unethical or illegal ones. More positively, prags can also be used to mean small gifts customarily given to family and friends when visiting or returning from another country.

[Press Release: Oxford University Press]

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