BAHAMAS: Department of Youth Affairs has bigger and better plans for TCI Youth. The Department of Youth Affairs who have just concluded the National Youth Forum earlier this year with the battle cry “Finding our voice, Making a difference” still has a lot of fruitful and meaningful activities for the youths of the country as it continues to recognize the vital role youths play in shaping the nation. Full article

CAYMAN ISLANDS: Driver’s ed. course launched. Frustrated by the lack of a driver’s education programme in Cayman’s public schools, a group of concerned residents has decided to begin privately–funded training for student drivers. Full article

CAYMAN ISLANDS: Parents responsible for children’s lunch. An overwhelming majority of respondents to the latest caycompass.com online poll think parents have the responsibility of ensuring school students eat a healthy lunch. Full article 

JAMAICA: Fostering skills development - Harnessing the minds of the youth. The election campaign is now raging around us. In this heated atmosphere it is difficult to keep our minds focused on the long-term interests of Jamaica. The problem faced by our youth is one such case. Neither party seems willing to seriously address this issue. Full article

JAMAICA: New attitude towards HIV. The new way of dealing with HIV/AIDS is not only to tell people to use a condom but to address the secondary factors, including gender inequality and violence, says Dr. Mukesh Kapila, special representative of the Secretary General (HIV), International Federation of Red Cross. Full article

MONSERRAT: 2007 Summer School workshop not as grand as before, but for the concert and exhibition. The 2007 summer school workshop organized by the Community Services Department for children ages seven to eighteen concluded with a concert on Thursday, August 9 and an exhibition on Friday, August 10 at the Brades Primary School compound. Full article

St LUCIA: Warring Factions Finger Police. Housing Minister Richard Frederick’s initiative to bring the warring factions of Wilton’s Yard and Grass Street together to stop the violence between the two communities is turning up information that fingers the police as profiting from the wars and killings taking place in Castries and the wider St. Lucia. Full article

St LUCIA: Catch 22. “Having my baby, what a lovely way of showing how much you love me” … the first line of a hit song by Paul Anka and Odia Coates during the seventies, could well appear to be the real national anthem of young St. Lucian women today. Full article

St LUCIA: Speculations! A high ranking officer of the Royal St. Lucia Police Force has described as speculation comments made by young men purportedly to be from rival gangs in the Wilton’s Yard and Grass Street communities that police officers profit from the gang wars and gun plays in the communities. Full article

St LUCIA: Opposition criticizes government borrowing. The St Lucia government ran into opposition criticism Tuesday over its borrowing policies when the House of Assembly met. It was the first meeting of the House since the budget presentation. Acting Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Stephenson King told the House that the OECS Skills for Incentives Growth Project is worth supporting as it comes at an opportune and critical time for the nation. Full article

St LUCIA: Task Force for Warring Communities. The Community Action Programme for Safety (CAPS), whose mission is to make communities throughout St. Lucia safer through targeted, coordinated and consultative initiatives that reduce and prevent crime, has now taken the Richard Frederick initiative another step in the Wilton’s Yard and Grass Street communities. Full article

TRINIDAD & TOBAGO: New HIV policy to curb injustice at work. Prime Minister Patrick Manning has said a draft national workplace policy on HIV/AIDS will soon be reviewed by Cabinet to help curb discrimination on the job because of the disease. Full article

TRINIDAD & TOBAGO: To a Brave New World The latest in HIV prevention research. Some of the most exciting findings shared at the 4th International AIDS Society (IAS) Conference on Pathogenesis Treatment and Prevention in Sydney last month came from scientists in the field of biomedical prevention. This three-part series will outline their reports on microbicides, pre-exposure prophylaxis, male circumcision and mother-to-child transmission. Full article

TRINIDAD & TOBAGO: Police blame drug, turf war. DRUGS and extortion are behind the bloodshed at Mt D'or Road, Champs Fleurs, police investigators say. Rivals from the lower part of the road have pitted themselves against those from upper Mt D'or in a fight for dominance and turf. In a war that has killed both criminals and innocent people, the latest casualty, teenager Lee-Ana Pierre, was shot dead while going home in a taxi on Monday. Full article