Editorial

"In the abundance of water, the fools are thirsty.” Bob Marley Thirsty men need water. That Bob Marley understood, as in fact does everyone else. Bu...

For the academic year beginning in September 2016, the University of the West Indies (UWI) will be offering three certificate programs in criminology ...

Over the last two months, Searchlight has engaged the Government in making the case that the Cybercrime Bill be amended to protect journalists. We bel...

On July 27, residents of Rose Place woke up to an extraordinary moment in the history of Vincentian policing: 100 police men and women from different ...

The St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) team to the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro is a tiny one, but our delegates carry with them the hopes and spi...

It is a pity that our parliamentary system does not allow for the publication of reports of Select Committees before those reports are submitted to Pa...

The Ministry of Health’s plan to train 500 young Public Health Volunteers to work as foot soldiers in the war against Zika is a commendable initiati...

The Bahamas, in a interesting twist in international diplomacy, issued, a little less than two weeks ago, a rare travel advisory for any of its citize...

Will the perennial problem of LIAT and the poor service travellers into and out of St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) have to endure every July and D...

How all things flash, how all things flare! Time is the school in which we learn Time is the fire in which we burn The June-July months occupy a speci...

“Carnival is mas and music, Carnival is calypso, Carnival is mas and steelband, Carnival is peace.” In 1975, Becket sang his way to the Calypso Mo...

"In the heat ah de jamming, she want to go home She say: ‘all me family gone, we go be alone’ Just as we reach, she take off she costume and put o...

In an age when most people associate global instability with wars, civil wars, and international terrorism originating in the Middle East, few remembe...

In 1977, Black Messenger sang: "Carnival is here again; I know man go jump whether sun or rain Carnival is here again; dis time in July is a new thing...

This is the time of the year when all across St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) parents and their children, teachers and educational officials, and a...

On Monday, June 13, 2016 in Orlando, Florida, hundreds of revelers attending a club that catered to Orlando’s gay and lesbian community met the inco...

Some Vincentians may be familiar with the name Edward Snowden. Right now he is in Russia, effectively beyond the reach of American law. Not too many p...

Today St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) is experiencing a surge in fatal shootings that has the potential to destabilize the society. Of course, the...

In his greatest poem entitled, "For the Fallen”, Robert Laurence Binyon writes: "They shall grow not old as we that are left grow old Age shall not ...

Crimes of a particularly violent nature are increasingly causing serious problems for law enforcement throughout the Caribbean and Latin America and i...

The 2016 hurricane season does not officially begin until tomorrow, June 1, but already, over the past few days, we have been experiencing heavy, inte...

Throughout the Caribbean, Latin America and the Americas as a whole, there is great and growing concern about the situation in Venezuela. There, polit...

In what appears to be a knee jerk reaction, the Ministry of Education yesterday banned all school outings to picnic sites close to rivers and beaches;...

There are far too many guns on the streets of St Vincent and the Grenadines in the hands of lawless, misguided individuals who have no respect for hum...

As modernity catches up with even small, underdeveloped states, a number of fundamental changes take place in the economy. Historically, the small sta...

It is difficult in the absence of concrete evidence to point fingers in any particular direction, but it is also reasonable to question whether the wo...

Seven years ago, the voters of this country handed Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves his biggest political defeat when they rejected his "root and bra...

The recent sad occurrences of beach drownings, especially as young people were victims, give us all reason to sit up and reflect on such incidents, th...

One of the national treasures of St Vincent and the Grenadines is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year. For many Vincentians, the New Kingstown ...

We sense that there is a distance between the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and the Police Service and that the distance may be ...

There is certain social legislation, which when enacted and enforced, leads to a transformation in the quality of life of the people of a country. The...

Traditional stereotypes which cast women as the weaker, gentler sex have led to double standards that often cause acts of violence perpetrated by wome...

This weekend is the most important in the Christian calendar. It is the Easter weekend, beginning with Good Friday when Christians commemorate the cru...

This society prides itself on being staunchly “Christian” to the extent that our Constitution affirms that the Nation is founded on the belief in ...

THE CHARACTER OF our economy has drastically changed over the past three to four decades. Whereas before, we were overwhelmingly dependent on agricult...

Today is International Women’s Day (IWD), a day set aside by the United Nations to celebrate the social, cultural and political achievement of women...

When the West Indies Under-19 cricket team including our own left-handed opener Gidron Pope won the World Cup last month, hopes of Caribbean cricket f...

We live in a rush to judgement era, where we convict first and collect evidence later. St Vincent and the Grenadines is as much a part of this phenome...

During the presentations on the 2016 Budget, (one cannot call it a debate in the absence of the Opposition), Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of For...

Protests against the 2015 general elections notwithstanding, the New Democratic Party (NDP) is missing a real opportunity by not turning up to Parliam...

The judgement handed down by Justice Brian Cottle last week in the matter brought against the Government by three teachers who contested the 2010 gene...

A new row has broken out in the lovely Grenadine island of Canouan over access by locals to the island’s natural resources, and their rights vis a v...

“It is not enough to stare up the steps; we must step up the stairs.” – Vaclav Havel A fitting quote for the current plans to clean up our capit...

This time of year traditionally ushers in the dry season though with the vagaries of climate change, there are many variations in traditional weather ...

Recently, minister of Education “Jimmy” Prince spoke of the Government’s intention to place greater emphasis on history in our schools, particul...

For years now, agricultural production in our country, and indeed much of the region has been shrouded under a cloak of gloom and doom. Many have been...

Hopefully, the experience of the residents of St Vincent and the Grenadines with the Chikungunya virus about 18 months ago was so traumatic that every...

When Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves delivers his 2016 Budget Address, besides the usual deep interest in fiscal matters, particularly revenue measu...

The discussion currently taking place among members of the public, especially holders of firearm permits, about where firearms can be legally taken is...

We respect the decision of the New Democratic Party (NDP) to support the call of a particular political activist not to engage with SEARCHLIGHT, but r...

Today marks one year since the occurrence of what is arguably one of the worst traffic accidents in the history of this country. The Rock Gutter trage...

The results of the December 9 general elections again reinforced the political division in this tiny country of ours. Yet, divided as we are, in terms...

It has been well documented that the creative arts can play an important role in nurturing young people as children blossom when engaged using multi-s...

The end of the year usually is a time when individuals, organizations and nations reflect on the months past and plan for what the future may hold. As...

Christians around the world will this Friday mark one of the most important dates on the religious calendar, December 25, Christmas Day. This being th...

Democracy can be unkind to half the population but it demands of both sides a duty to be mature. It behooves the victor to govern in the interest of A...

The mirror does not always flatter us. Over the last few days, SEARCHLIGHT was taken to task in some quarters for publication of photographs showing s...

Finally and thankfully, we have come to the end of a drawn-out election campaign which has grabbed the attention of the populace, diverted scarce reso...

The next five days will be characterised by an unparalleled intensification of the election campaign, as the contending forces strain every sinew in a...

The last time the New Democratic Party (NDP) was in government, those people on the voters’ list who have just turned 18 were three or four years ol...

The past few general elections held in St Vincent and the Grenadines have been characterized by the intensity of campaigning, so much so that each one...

The candidates have been nominated, the period of special registration is over. The next big step in the elections process will take place on December...

General elections are by their very nature contentious and divisive. They tend to bring out both the best and worst in us, the latter more than the fo...

Last Friday, this country’s senior men’s national football team (Vincy Heat) suffered a 6-1 drubbing by the USA. The young team clearly played the...

As we prepare for next month’s general elections, it is heartening to note that serious attempts are being made to have voters make their choices, n...

The waiting is over. After months of speculation and consultation of the scriptures, we now know that voters in this country will go to the polls in 2...

Next Friday our nation’s footballers embark on the next stage of their ambitious campaign to try and win a qualifying spot in the 2018 World Cup fin...

It is not unusual for electoral campaigns to degenerate in the direction of personal and partisan attacks rather than focus on serious proposals for d...

As has become customary, Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves delivered a hefty package of 14 announcements, two short of a metaphoric pound, during his Ind...

Next Tuesday, our still-young nation celebrates its 36th anniversary of Independence. It is an occasion which is much revered and respected in many co...

St Vincent and the Grenadines goes to the polls in less than two months time. We can say that with some measure of certainty, because the Prime Minist...

Were there any winners or losers in this week’s attempt by the leadership of the St Vincent and the Grenadines Teachers Union (SVGTU) and the Public...

Last Saturday, October 10, was commemorated throughout the world as World Mental Health Day. We do not have statistics on the incidence of mental illn...

We are into the month of October, Independence month in St Vincent and the Grenadines. It is definitely our last Independence celebrations before the ...

Most times, when discussions are held about circumstances and consequences of the failed Ottley Hall Marina Project, no mention is made of another unf...

As the publisher of a newspaper, it only stands to reason that we should share in the concern being expressed publicly about the degree to which readi...

The international airport project at Argyle is so strategically important to our country, restricted as we are in our developmental thrust by the lack...

Here we go again. There is either a fundamental misunderstanding in some quarters about the difference between accreditation and recognition of academ...

Perhaps never before in living memory has the leader of the Catholic Church had such a profound impact on the poor, oppressed and needy as the current...

It is that when election campaigning begins the proverbial gloves are off where politicians are concerned. In St Vincent and the Grenadines though, su...

Rapid developments in information communication technology continue to challenge the applicability and practicality of many of our current laws and ac...

The tasks facing the new administration of Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley in Port of Spain are literally quite humongous. Chief among them would be re...

The St Vincent and the Grenadines Teachers’ Union (SVGTU) seems to be stepping up a campaign against the ULP government just as the ruling party its...

As the election date draws ever nearer and the campaign intensifies, it is timely for us to revisit the issue of the participation of our women in pol...