Barbados Offshore Energy: Barbados has kicked off direct negotiations for offshore oil and natural gas, offering 19 ultra-deepwater blocks and requiring stronger climate and environmental standards from bidders, with officials citing seismic survey results that suggest potential reserves of 13+ billion barrels of oil and 40+ trillion cubic feet of gas. Regional Development Finance: Caribbean Development Bank President Daniel Best used the CDB’s board meeting to push a “stronger, greener, more resilient” region, pointing to climate volatility, technological disruption, and shrinking development finance as the big pressures. Digital Payments: The Central Bank of Barbados is rolling out BiMPay as the payment “rail” to connect banks and payment providers for faster, safer, more accessible digital transactions, with a public launch set for June 12. Health Tech & Care: Queen Elizabeth Hospital is advancing a major digital overhaul and capital works, including a new linear accelerator that has already delivered 1,500 cancer treatments. Food Safety & Labs: A regional meeting in Barbados focused on strengthening laboratory testing and food safety systems across CARIFORUM, including standardised methods and better quality assurance. Skills Digitisation: HEART/NSTA Trust digitised three Level Two TVET courses for the CARICOM TVET digitalisation pilot, moving delivery onto its Moodle platform. Education Integrity: Ghana’s GTEC warned the public about 70 unrecognised tertiary institutions and urged verification before enrolling or accepting certificates. Energy Transition Debate: BCEN is urging Barbados to look past short-term electricity stabilisation and focus on real grid and energy transformation.