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Director of Cricket at Cricket West Indies (CWI), Miles Bascombe has maintained that there were some bright sparks in the regional side’s loss to minnows Nepal in their recently concluded T20I series.

Despite sending a young team missing several senior players and boasting six possible debutants, the sixth-ranked West Indies were still expected to comfortably defeat 18th-ranked Nepal in their three-match T20I Unity Cup series last month in the United Arab Emirates.

However, the West Indies lost the first two matches on their way to suffering an embarrassing 2-1 defeat that sent shockwaves across the cricketing community.

It also gave Nepal their first-ever win over a Full Member in any format.

Ackeem Auguste scored an unbeaten 41 in the third T20I against Nepal which West Indies won by 10 wickets

Speaking during CWI’s quarterly press conference on Wednesday, Bascombe said the T20I series against Nepal was always going to be a challenging one due to the construction of the team and the available timeline.

‘The Nepal series had always been earmarked as an opportunity for exposure for emerging talent.

‘We always knew that turnaround time would have been a challenge. They pretty much had one day to acclimatise and one practice session going into that series and in a very short tournament of three matches, if you’re not off the ground running from match one you can very much find yourself behind the eight ball as we did,’ Bascombe said.

‘But as I mentioned, the opportunity for exposure has been key. We need more information in terms of filling those positions and shoring up some of those positions that we have in our international T20 team, and while we saw some struggle in those first couple of games, we definitely saw what we all knew in terms of what we saw in the CPL and what we saw in the Breakout League, that we definitely have quality in that group and we have capable players.

‘So, I think that that series, albeit a very disappointing loss, we were still able to identify some options. We have seen some players that have come all the way from the Breakout League all the way through to international T20 cricket and have shown that they may have what it takes to make the step up to the international level.

‘So, while I wouldn’t want to disarm anyone of that emotional response to a West Indies loss to a minnow, we still need to be able to expose our players and give them that opportunity to shine in challenging conditions. I’m quite confident that we have seen some good signs.’ Bascombe further added.

The Barbados-based Caribbean Tourism Organization( CTO) says tourist arrivals to the Caribbean region grew by nearly two per cent during the first half of 2025, despite softening demand from North America.

Speaking during the 2025 State of the Tourism Industry Conference (SOTIC) taking place here through Friday, the CTO’s database administrator, Paul Garnes, said that overall, the region still recorded arrivals 6.1 per cent above 2019, pre-pandemic levels.

‘Considering tourist arrivals then, in the first half of the year 2025, the Caribbean tourism industry showed strong resilience, continuing to grow despite external challenges,’ Garnes said.

He said stay over arrivals remained above 2024 and pre-pandemic, 2019 levels, signalling sustained recovery, noting that while growth has moderated compared to the sharp rebound of recent years, the sector continues to move positively forward.

Preliminary estimates show 18.5 million arrivals in the first six months of 2025, up from 18.2 million in 2024 and 17.5 million in 2019, reflecting a 1.9 per cent year-on-year increase and a 6.1 per cent increase over 2019 levels.

Performance differed across Caribbean destinations, but the majority of the 24 reporting destinations achieved positive growth.

‘Fifteen destinations reported higher arrivals compared to the same period in 2024,’ Garnes said, adding that the top performers were Guyana. St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Curacao, Trinidad and Tobago and Dominica.

Declines range from one per cent to 10.7 per cent, driven mainly by external shocks, recovery from environmental events and natural limits on further rapid expansion.

At the half-year mark, most Caribbean destinations recorded arrivals above pre-pandemic levels, underscoring resilience and continued growth, Garnes said, adding that among the 17 destinations with growth, expansion ranged from 1.3 per cent to 68.2 per cent, compared to 2019.

‘By contrast, a smaller group of destinations still lag behind pre-pandemic volumes, showing an uneven pace of recovery,’ he said.

The monthly data, however, show that some of the uncertainty and volatility at the start of the year has begun to settle.

During the first quarter of the year, arrivals dipped 0.6 per cent compared to 2024, linked to softer demand, reduced airlift and seasonal timing. Despite the dip, volumes during the first quarter were still 3.6 times higher than in 2019, showing that the long-term recovery trend remains intact.

However, second quarter tells a much stronger story with monthly arrivals to the region ranging between 2.8 and 3.1 million tourists.

Compared to 2024, April was up 8.4 per cent; May, 2.2 per cent and June, 3.7 per cent, with overall growth in Q2 rising to 4.8 per cent, representing some 8.9 million visitors to the region.

‘This growth has more than offset the small dip in quarter one, showing clear momentum as the year progressed.’

Garnes said several factors boosted this rebound, including the fact that Easter was in April this year, the international cricket series with Ireland and England, the delayed Liberation Day tariff changes, expanded marketing, better air connectivity and new hotel capacity.

‘When compared to pre-pandemic levels, quarter two was particularly strong, up nearly 9 per cent over 2019, a clear sign that the region is on a growth trajectory.’

Garnes said the overall performance showed a softening in major northern markets driven by economic uncertainty and shifting consumer behaviour.

This was partially onset by stronger demand from South America.

However, the United States continues to be the region’s main market, comprising about half of all visitors to the region, followed by Europeans with 14 per cent and Canadians -just under 10 per cent.

At the same time, just over nine million people visited the Caribbean from the United States, which was generally flat compared to 2024.

However, the United States remains the Caribbean’s anchor market, making up nearly half of all the visitors, though growth momentum has slowed.

Meanwhile, Aliyyah Shakeer, the CTO’s director of research, said data from the first quarter of 2025 show that room rates in the region continue to rise even as occupancy slipped.

Shakeer said the average daily rate rose just over three per cent, reaching US$424 but occupancy slipped by 1.4 per cent to 73 per cent.

‘But even with that, the overall room revenues still grew by almost three per cent, held by a steady supply, which was up just less than one per cent,’ she said, adding that it appears that 19 properties are under construction across the region.

In terms of the short-term rentals, data from Airbnb collected by CTO for 24 destinations in the region showed the sector stayed relatively strong in 2024.

‘By the end of 2024, there were about 79,500 active listings across the region, and this was up just 10 per cent compared to 2023,’ Shakeer said.

‘However, as we fast forward into the first quarter of 2025, we saw a small dip or small pullback in listings – about 78,000; but compared to the same time in 2024, it is still a healthy increase of more than five per cent.’

Shakeer said the activity numbers tell a much stronger story, with check-ins rising by 7 per cent and room nights jumping by 12 per cent

‘So altogether, this means that there were 1 million check-ins and 5 million room-nights per the short-term rental economy in just the first three months of the year. What’s more is that the average length of stay is moving upwards, moving from 4.4 days to 4.6 days,’ Shakeer said.

The following is the CANANews and SPORTS Schedule for Thursday, October 2, 2025.

BRIDGETOWN – The Barbados-based Caribbean Tourism Organization( CTO) says tourist arrivals to the Caribbean region grew by nearly two per cent during the first half of 2025, despite softening demand from North America

WASHINGTON – Haiti has signed a three-year country cooperation strategy (CSS) with the Pan American Health Organization and the World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) with the two United nations organisations reaffirming their shared commitment to strengthening Haiti’s health system and improving health outcomes for all.

KINGSTOWN -The main opposition New Democratic Party (NDP) is promising to double public assistance, reduce the 16 per cent value added tax (VAT) on ‘everyday goods’ and residential electricity while also paying a bonus salary to public servants.

BELMOPAN – Opposition Leader, Tracy Taegar-Panton, is questioning the sincerity behind the government’s decision to have an independent investigation into the alleged kidnapping of a Belizean and his surrender to Guatemalan authorities in August.

GEORGETOWN – The opposition People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) has reaffirmed its ‘complete confidence’ in its leader, Aubrey Norton, despite the party’s devastating performance in the September 1 general and regional elections.

SPORTS:

AHMEDABAD – West Indies were dismissed for 162 on the opening day of the first test against India at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Thursday.

Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell says that the lack of financial statements showing the historic performance of the Marketing and National Importing Board (MNIB) is contributing to the delay in the government’s ability to reach an agreement with a new partner.

‘The main challenge we had was that the MNIB was so poorly run that there were no financial statements for many many years and as we attempt to get a private partner to partner with us we have to have those financial statements,’ he said during his interactive talk show ‘DMs with the PM’.

‘So, we have given instructions to try and accelerate this but when statutory bodies don’t do they financials and are not run properly and the government has to bail it out, that is the kind of challenge we face, where we cant even present an investor with a financial statement to tell the historic performance of the entity,’ Mitchell said.

In July 2022, Prime Minister Mitchell, who at the time also held minister of finance portfolio, said that the MNIB would be shut down and the law establishing the statutory body would be be repealed allowing for a new entity to be created under a public private partnership.

At the time the MNIB was facing financial challenges and in February 2023, the government paid severance and other termination benefits to all eighty-seven staff members to the tune of EC$2.67 million (One EC dollar=US$0.37 cents).

The government then appointed a six-member broad-based technical working group to deal with the establishment of an appropriate public private partnership to support the sustainable growth of the agriculture sector.

In August 2023, the government announced the successful refinancing of the estimated five million dollars of debt owed by the MNIB to a local commercial bank.

The terms of the new arrangement included consolidating all outstanding principal balances of debt owed by MNIB at an interest rate of four per cent to be repaid over a period of 10 years, an interest free loan for all outstanding interest to date to be repaid over 10 years and the release of all existing securities to be replaced with a charge on the Consolidated Fund.

In March this year, Finance Minister Dennis Cornwall said that the life span of the entity known as the Marketing and National Importing Board would end before the third quarter of this year, because the government had established a new entity to replace the statutory body which was established more than 45 years ago.

Delivering the 2025 national budget to Parliament on March7, Cornwall said that the government had taken ‘decisive’ steps to address the longstanding financial management and inefficiencies plaguing the MNIB.

Cornwall said to this end, a new company – Import-Export Agromart (IMEXA) Ltd – had been established and legal and financial experts were developing prospectus and legal agreements to engage a suitable strategic partner and have the new entity up and running before the end of third quarter 2025

Guyana has launched a multi-year project that will allow for the high-tech aerial mapping of the country’s minerals so that prospectors can make informed decisions about where to search for commercially viable deposits ranging from gold to uranium and rare earth minerals.

‘This can be about gold but it can be about so much more. It is about an organised inventory of our mineral resources,’ said the Commissioner of the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), Newell Dennison.

Natural Resources Minister Vickram Bharrat said the mineral mapping exercise is in line with government’s thrust of sustainable development, viable and low-impact mining, and environmental preservation that are all features of Guyana’s Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS).

‘This is a project that will enhance our reputation, as a country, that will enhance the mining sector, that will show greater environmental stewardship while we continue to develop our country and create opportunities for our people,’ he added.

Geologist and geophysicist at the United States-based Aqua Geo Frameworks, Jared Abraham, said the first set of mapping is expected to be completed by December, this year if Guyana continues to enjoy good weather.

He said that the team is putting together maps of how the different minerals and their properties are configured throughout Guyana and that two aircraft, stacked with advanced equipment, are collecting data at rate of 250 kilometres or 70 metres per second and 80 metres over the surface.

‘We’re not disturbing the delicate ecosystem. In one flight, we are collecting more data than you could do on the ground within a year or maybe two years without disturbing the eco-system,’ Abraham said, adding that the plan includes building Guyana’s first gravity map.

Dennison said the mapping exercise would gather data about the geological and geochemistry and structural relationships of Guyana ‘massive mineralised terrains,’ influence on the locations, accessibility and availability for exploitation.

The GGMC official said such information would assist decision-makers in investing in areas with a great likelihood of finding commercially viable mineral deposits.

‘We want not to have willy-nilly adventurism into the mining estate. We want persons to be much more predictive of where they’re going to put their resources and, therefore, from our perspective be more proficient in terms of finances and of course better outcomes for our national coffers,’ he said.

Dennison said the four million US dollar aerial remote sensing would be able to fill data gaps left by geoscientists and previous prospectors.

The project includes training, consultations with stakeholders and validation of locally-completed geological and geochemical surveys dating back to 15 years.

President and chief executive officer of Global Ventures, Emily King, said that the mapping exercise entails systematic flights in precisely spaced lines over large areas to measure subtle variations in the earth’s magnetic and radiometric fields.

She said those measurements help the scientists to see beneath the forest canopy and soils to understand the geology.

She said good data would shorten timelines, reduces unnecessary environmental disturbances and improve outcomes, helps government develop evidence-based policies and regulate efficiency, helps companies target their work more responsibly and ‘most importantly helps companies benefit from mines of all sizes that are well-planned from the start because they have the best data available’.

The number of Canadian visitors to the Caribbean fell by nine per cent to 1.67 million, while arrivals from Europe dropped by an estimated five per cent to 2.53 million during the first half of 2025, compared to the same period last year.

Database administrator at the Barbados-based Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO), Paul Garnes, said that in the case of Canada, this was due to softer demand tied to weaker consumer confidence, higher travel costs and currency events.

Garnes told the 2025 State of the Tourism Industry Conference taking place here through Friday that while Europe remains an important market to Caribbean tourism, demand is under pressure due to economic headwinds and or stronger competition from other destinations.

He said intra-Caribbean travel registered 560,000 arrivals, representing 1.2 per cent growth, adding, ‘this continues to support regional resilience’.

South America was another ‘bright spot’ with arrivals jumping more than 25 per cent, moving from 790,000 to just under one million.

‘And then in other markets, including Asia, Africa, and others, we saw solid double-digit growth, up 12 per cent to nearly 3.8 million arrivals,’ Garnes said, adding that this shows that the Caribbean is diversifying beyond traditional source markets.

Garnes said a closer look at Canada showed Canadian outbound travel took a hit in the first half of 2025, especially as the United States tariffs, trade tensions and broader uncertainty pushed many Canadians towards domestic trips and alternative destinations.

For the Caribbean, about 1.7 million Canadian tourists visited between January and June, down just over nine per cent from last year.

‘And it pulled our recovery rate back from nearly 86 per cent of 2019 levels in 2024 to 78 per cent this year. ‘

From January to March, arrivals dropped sharply, down 12 per cent in January, 15 per cent in February, and 10 per cent in March.

‘These losses were even deeper when compared to 2019, with winter months still 27 per cent to 31 per cent below pre-pandemic levels,’ Garnes said, noting that the downward trend continued in April and May, though the contractions were smaller.

In the month of June, there was a rebound as arrivals grew nearlyseven per cent year-on-year, even as that month was 11 per cent less than 2019 volume.

‘So when we look at Canadian arrivals by destination, the results were very uneven,’ Garnes said, adding that of the 19 CTO reporting destinations, only eight recorded growth in the first half of the year.

‘Increases range from a small two per cent to a strong 36 per cent. Bermuda, Curacao and Aruba were the top-performing destinations for Canadians. Looking further back to 2019, only six destinations have fully recovered their pre-crisis volumes. For the rest, Canadian arrivals are still below 2019 levels.’

Garnes said the European economy showed moderate growth in the first half of 2025, supported by services and manufacturing.

‘Inflation eased, employment held steady, and discretionary spending improved, factors that helped sustain outbound travel,’ he said, noting that long-haul travel from Europe is rebounding, but destination performance still depends heavily on how each market is recovering and where travellers choose to go.

By the end of June, about 2.5 million Europeans had visited the Caribbean, down almost five per cent from last year and 17 per cent below pre-crisis levels.

‘Month by month, arrivals were weak,’ Garnes said, adding that the first quarter saw declines averaging around 7.5 per cent.

‘April was the lone bright spot, with a very slight uptick, but May and June slipped again. Overall, quarter two fell by a smaller margin, about two per cent. Compared to 2019, recovery rates vary widely, from just under 70 per cent in January to nearly 93 per cent in May.’

Garnes said most Caribbean destinations saw declines in arrivals from Europe.

‘Only seven of the 19 reporting destinations grew in the first half, led by Guyana, Anguilla and Antigua and Barbuda. Growth ranged from just under two per cent to about 36 per cent,’ Garnes said.

‘So, looking at recovery since 2019, just six destinations have fully surpassed three pandemic levels, with gains from two to 79 per cent.’

Overall, tourist arrivals to the Caribbean grew by 1.9% during the first half of 2025, despite softening demand from North America.

Garnes said that overall, the region still recorded arrivals 6.1 per cent above 2019 – pre-pandemic – levels.

‘Considering tourist arrivals then, in the first half of the year 2025, the Caribbean tourism industry showed strong resilience, continuing to grow despite external challenges,’ Garnes said.

The Dominican Republic (DR) is hosting the 2025 Summit of the Americas – a gathering of the Heads of State and Government of 32 countries of the Western Hemisphere.

On September 30, the Government of the DR, publicly stated that Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela will not be invited to the 2025 Summit of the Americas. The Government was careful to explain that its choice is necessary to ‘ensure the widest possible political dialogue’ and to ‘guarantee the success of the Summit.’ It also makes clear that this decision ‘does not interfere with bilateral relations’ with any of the three countries.

This decision is likely to provoke a response similar to that seen at the 2022 Summit in Los Angeles, when the U.S. administration of Joe Biden did not invite the same three governments.

Calls for Heads of Government to stay away followed, and a few did so in protest at the non-invitation of Cuba’s President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, Nicaragua’s President Daniel Ortega Saavedra, and Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro Moros.

Leaders should think hard before staying away from the 2025 Summit. Global and regional conditions have shifted: wars in the Middle East and Europe cast economic and security shadows across the Americas; within the hemisphere, ideological rifts are reopening. This is precisely the moment for leaders to meet- to manage differences, protect interests, and act in the interest of all the peoples of the Americas.

Attendance is leverage, not endorsement. Leaders who believe that Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela should be invited should say so at the Summit, in direct terms. Refusing to attend neither alters the guest list nor delivers gains for the peoples of the Americas; it only removes strong national voices from the room where decisions and deals are made.

The agenda in Punta Cana in the DR is built around four urgent security pillars: citizen security, energy security, water security, and food security. Across reputable global assessments, Latin America and the Caribbean ranks poorly on all four: the region bears the world’s highest homicide burden; most countries are not water-secure; energy-transition progress and grid reliability lag behind other regions; and the cost of a healthy diet is the highest in the world, alongside elevated food-insecurity rates. They determine whether freedom of speech is preserved; whether hospitals, schools and hotels have electricity; whether water pipes run and crops survive; whether households have access to food at prices they can afford.

The DR government put out the suggested theme for the Summit with these four pillars since February and the first draft of a possible Declaration from the Summit was issued in June. Since September 11, government representatives of the 32 countries have been negotiating the outcome document.

A major initiative at this Summit is the CEO Convocation co-hosted with the Inter-American Development Bank. That platform is designed for public authorities and private capital to assemble the financing and execution capacity that the four pillars require. Public-private partnerships, built transparently and on fair terms, can shorten delivery timelines and spread costs sensibly. The CEO meeting is where those partnerships can be made real.

Another imperative is greater trade and economic integration across Latin America and the Caribbean. Integration scales markets, deepens and de-risks supply chains, and accelerates the spread of knowledge and expertise. Practical steps such as, customs facilitation, reliable sea- and air-links, and competitively priced access to infrastructure inputs, are all matters leaders should use the Summit to agree and advance.

Apart from these general considerations, Caribbean leaders should be at the Summit to focus on particular Caribbean concerns. The recent UN Security Council decision on Haiti must be advanced with practical timelines, resources, and roles. Understanding and progress are also needed on differences over climate change and sustainable development, where positions diverge but impacts converge. The negotiations in the Summit Implementation Review Group (SIRG), made up of all the independent states of the Americas except Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, began on September 11 and have yet to resolve differences on these points at the technical level. It may take direct consultation by leaders to agree on actions that can be taken.

The last Summit, despite political controversy, still produced outcomes of value, including climate- and energy-cooperation channels that mobilized technical support and investment for Caribbean states. The lesson is straightforward: even when politics creates dissonance, useful progress is possible when leaders are present, prepared, and focused.

There is a wider principle that should be stated; movement toward greater democracy and respect for human, civil, and political rights is necessary for broad-based development and for international financial support.

In Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, tangible steps in that direction would encourage broader backing across the hemisphere. In Venezuela’s case specifically, military threats against Guyana should give way to a peaceful, lawful path under international law and the process of the International Court of Justice that the UN Secretary-General authorized and CARICOM governments have endorsed.

It is understood that President Trump may not attend for security reasons – a concern that might yet be resolved. Nonetheless, senior U.S. representation is expected; at minimum Secretary of State Marco Rubio or Vice President Vance, or both.

The margins of the Summit are well-suited to quiet, candid exchanges with U.S. principals on the effects of U.S. policy across the hemisphere; conversations that can yield practical attention to pressing issues.

This is a meeting to be present, active, and speaking: the DR government has set a constructive path; its non-invitations to Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela are framed as a Summit-specific decision, without prejudice to bilateral relations. Leaders should use that path to pursue national interests and advance hemispheric cooperation. Not attending leaves influence at the table in other hands. Attending, and doing the work, serves the people of the Americas.

*Sir Ronald Sanders is the Ambassador of Antigua and Barbuda to the United States and the OAS, and Dean of the OAS Ambassadors accredited to the OAS. Responses and previous commentaries:

American Democratic leaders on Wednesday blamed President Donald Trump and Republicans for the United States federal government shutdown.

‘From the moment Donald Trump took office, he and his administration have been on a relentless crusade to make this nation less affordable, less equitable, and less like the America we love with all our hearts,’ Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke, the daughter of Jamaican immigrants, told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC). ‘This ongoing government shutdown is simply the culmination of those efforts so far.

‘The American people are not fools,’ added the representative for the 9th Congressional District in Brooklyn, New York. ‘They see that Republicans control the House, the Senate, and the White House, and they know the responsibility to fund the government is on the majority’s shoulders. If Republicans cannot keep the government open without Democratic votes, they should have a meaningful dialogue with our leaders rather than insult them with crude, racist caricatures for applause on social media.

‘The Democrats started this fight united against Republicans’ cruelty, and we will remain united until that cruelty is defeated,’ continued Clarke, who also chairs the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC). ‘We will not accept any outcome that allows countless Americans to lose their healthcare, and we will not accept any outcome where working people pay more so billionaires can pay less.

‘We are facing a healthcare crisis manufactured by the Republican Party – marked by the largest proposed cuts to Medicaid and Medicare in our nation’s history,’ she said. ‘Once again, it is Black communities who stand to suffer the most.’

Clarke said the CBC will not support any spending bill that strips healthcare from millions, slashes federal jobs, and drives up the cost of living for working families.

‘And to our Republican colleagues, let me be clear: Enough is enough,’ she said. ‘Work with us on a bipartisan solution that protects the people – not one that causes maximum harm to the very communities that have long sustained this country.

‘Today, our country is facing a crisis entirely of the Republican Party’s making and, unfortunately, Black communities will be forced to bear the brunt of their political games,’ the congresswoman added. ‘Make no mistake: President Trump and the Republican majority in Congress own this shutdown. Instead of coming to the negotiating table to find a bipartisan solution to prevent Americans from losing life-saving healthcare, they left town.

‘Instead of negotiating in good faith with Democratic leadership, President Trump cowardly posted racist deepfakes on the Internet. This behavior shows the American people exactly who the Republicans are and where their priorities lie,’ she continued. ‘The GOP spending proposal includes the most aggressive attack on healthcare in modern history, slashing Medicaid and Medicare at unprecedented levels. These cuts are not abstract – they are life-or-death decisions for millions of Americans, especially the 1 in 5 Medicaid enrollees who are Black.’

Across America, Clarke said hospitals, nursing homes, and clinics that serve Black and minority communities are already closing their doors.

‘The Republicans’ refusal to extend ACA premium tax credits is driving up costs and pushing coverage out of reach for many in our communities,’ she said. ‘And if that weren’t bad enough, they are gutting medical research on diseases that disproportionately impact Black Americans, like heart disease and diabetes.

‘The Congressional Black Caucus made clear that we will not support a partisan, extremist spending bill that slashes healthcare, guts federal jobs, and raises costs for hardworking Americans,’ she added. ‘We are calling on our Republican colleagues to return to Washington and negotiate in good faith on a bipartisan path forward to protect healthcare and reopen the government.’

Congressman Adriano Espaillat, the first Dominican Republic-American to serve in the US House of Representatives, representing New York’s 13th Congressional District, condemned Trump’s efforts to freeze funding for New York City transit and infrastructure, including vital support for the Gateway Project and Second Avenue Subway expansion to East Harlem and New York’s 13th congressional district amid the federal government shutdown.

‘The White House’s decision to threaten the Gateway Project and Second Avenue Subway, our nation’s most critical infrastructure projects, is another exhibit of the reckless partisanship and bad governance that triggered this Republican government shutdown,’ said Espaillat, whose district comprises Harlem, East Harlem, West Harlem, Hamilton Heights, Washington Heights, Inwood, Marble Hill and the north-west Bronx.

‘Shame on Russell Vought (the White House budget director) and the Trump administration for harming our national security and punishing New Yorkers with this DC political gamesmanship and negatively impacting the tens of thousands of East Harlem residents who have suffered without transportation access for decades,’ Espaillat added.

New York State Assemblywoman Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn, the daughter of Haitian immigrants, noted that, for the first time in six years, the federal government has entered a shutdown, ‘due to disagreement in President Trump proposal to cut back on severe funding.

‘While these decisions are made in Washington, they have real consequences for families and communities here in New York,’ said Bichotte Hermelyn, chair of the Brooklyn Democratic Party, who represents the 42nd Assembly District in Brooklyn.

She said the impact of the shutdown may include federal employees and contractors working without pay until funding is restored; SNAP and WIC benefits could be disrupted, placing added strain on families who depend on these programs for food assistance; housing and rental assistance programmes funded through HUD may see delays in processing, impacting families who rely on this support.

She said small businesses applying for federal loans or grants may face delays, limiting access to capital; travel and safety services such as TSA screenings and air traffic control will continue but may be strained due to staffing shortages; community organizations that depend on federal funding will face uncertainty in sustaining their programs; and Veterans Affairs will cease providing transition programme assistance and career counseling.

Bichotte Hermelyn said the shutdown may also defund police, affect healthcare by delaying Medicare claims, and cause closure of national parks and public facing federal offices.

‘President Trump and Washington Republicans are once again putting politics over people with this reckless shutdown,’ she told CMC. ‘Here in Brooklyn, where so many families are already struggling, and now millions shall stand to lose food assistance, health care, and housing support.

‘These cuts would be devastating to women, children, immigrants, New Yorkers who rely on SNAP and working families,’ she added.

US House of Representatives Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who represents New York’s 8th Congressional District, encompassing parts of Brooklyn and Queens, told a press conference in Washington on Wednesday that, at midnight on Tuesday, ‘Donald Trump and Republicans shut the federal government down because they don’t want to provide healthcare to working-class Americans.’

He said he and US Senate Democratic Leader Charles ‘Chuck’ Schumer met with President Trump and legislative leaders on Monday.

‘We had a conversation that was designed to avoid a painful government shutdown and address the Republican healthcare crisis,’ Jeffries said. ‘Subsequent to that meeting, we heard nothing from any of the legislative leaders on the Republican side, and the President has been engaging in irresponsible and unserious behavior, demonstrating that, all along, Republicans wanted to shut the government down.

‘That’s no surprise, because, for decades, Republicans have consistently shut the government down as part of their efforts to try to extract and jam their extreme right-wing agenda down the throats of the American people,’ he added.

‘Democrats have repeatedly made clear we are ready to sit down with anyone, at any time and at any place in order now to reopen the government, to enact a spending agreement that meets the needs of the American people and to address the devastating Republican healthcare crisis that has caused extraordinary harm on people all across the country, in rural America, working-class America, urban America, small town America, the heartland of America and Black and brown communities throughout America,’ he continued.

‘The Republican healthcare crisis is devastating, the likes of which no one has ever seen – largest cut to Medicaid in American history, a possible US$536 billion cut to Medicare because of the One Big Ugly Bill if Congress doesn’t act by the end of the year,’ Jeffries said.

He warned that ‘tens of millions of Americans are about to experience dramatically increased premiums, co-pays and deductibles because of the Republican unwillingness to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits.

‘Hospitals, nursing homes and community-based health clinics are closing all across the country, including in rural America, because of what Republicans have done and the healthcare crisis they have triggered through their cruel actions throughout this year,’ he added. ‘Republicans have even canceled medical research in the United States of America, even as it relates to children who are battling cancer.

‘The Republican healthcare crisis is immoral in nature, and Democrats are fighting hard to reverse it,’ Jeffries continued. ‘Cancel the cuts, lower the cost, save healthcare on behalf of the American people.’

Prime Minister Kamla Persad Bissessar says she remains confident that an agreement could be reached with regards to the Dragon gas deal involving Venezuela and that she was prepared to lead the local delegation to Caracas for the discussions.

‘The project benefits Venezuela, they benefit the United states and they benefit Trinidad and Tobago,’ Prime Minister Persad Bissessar told reporters on her return here from the United States where she addressed the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) and held talks with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

‘I am confident we will be able to work it out.it may take a few more days.but I am confident that together all partners in this.Venezuela, Trinidad and Tobago, the United States will all benefit.So we look forward,’ she told reporters.

A statement issued following the talks with Rubio, on Tuesday said that Washington had ‘outlined US support for the government’s Dragon gas proposal and steps to ensure it will not provide significant benefit to the Maduro regime’

But former prime minister Stuart Young Wednesday described the new development as an ‘irony’ recalling the announcement by Prime Minister Persad Bissessar, soon after being sworn into office that the Dragon gas deal was dead.

He said ‘she announced to the world at large that Dragon was dead with glee and that they would pursue gas in Grenada, Guyana, Suriname and .we find ourselves right back here today’.

Young said it is obvious that the government will mislead the public on the project going forward , saying the Dragon gas field is completely within the maritime borders of Venezuela.

‘The Dragon gas field is completely owned by the people of Venezuela and it is the PNM (People’s National Movement) government that negotiated through very difficult and trying times and managed in December 2023 .to obtain a 30 years exploration, production and export of gas from the Dragon field to Trinidad and Tobago waters’.

In April, the United States government revoked the OFAC license granted to Trinidad and Tobago to allow Shell, the National Gas Company (NGC), and contractors to explore, produce, and export natural gas from the Venezuelan Dragon Gas Field.

The license was valid until October 31, 2025, and enabled Trinidad and Tobago to pay for gas in various currencies and through humanitarian measures. On December 21, 2023, Trinidad and Tobago also secured a 30-year exploration and production license from the government of Venezuela for the Dragon gas field.

Washington had also revoked the Cocuina-Manakin license granted to Port of Spain on May 31, 2024.

Port of Spain had been planning to request an extension from Washington for a license granted to Shell and the NGC to develop the Dragon gas project in Venezuela.

The license, issued in early 2023, allows the companies to plan the project. The project aims to supply gas to Trinidad by 2027. The Dragon Field is located in Venezuelan waters near the maritime border with Trinidad.

Young said following the revocation of the licence, Rubio held talks with him and in a statement made it clear ‘he will work with us on our energy security and our energy deals and in the world of diplomacy and diplomatic language that is what we were talking about’.

Young said that the present government has been making pre-mature statements ‘that they have obtained something is completely false’.

In recent weeks, Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela had been engaged in a war of words after Port of Spain voiced its support for Washington’s war on drugs that saw it sending military warships into the Caribbean Sea with the intent of preventing drug dealers from illegally carrying out their trade.

Persad Bissessar praised the US military strike on an alleged drug-carrying vessel in the southern Caribbean, saying she had ‘no sympathy for traffickers’ and that the US military should ‘kill them all violently

Venezuela has since responded to what it termed the threat posed by the United States and has itself marshalled its troops along its borders.

Persad Bissessar told reporters that she is prepared to lead the negotiations in Venezuela indicating also that her administration had been working to breathe life into the Dragon gas project after it won the April 28 general election.

She said that Foreign and CARICOM Affairs Minister, Sean Sobers, and Energy Minister Dr Roodal Moonilal could lead alsolead the delegation to Caracas and that she was also available.

‘Of course, you have me,’ she reminded reporters adding that Moonilal and Sobers had been in contact with their counterparts in the Venezuelan government with respect to Dragon gas project.

She remained confidence that Venezuela would negotiate with Trinidad and Tobago despite Port of Spain’s support for the US military deployment in the southern Caribbean Sea, outside of Venezuelan territorial waters.

‘We have always maintained solidarity with the people of Venezuela,’ she said, adding that there had been no discussions about regime change in Caracas.

‘Our concern has always been .to deal with the criminals, narco traffickers .human traffickers, gun runners.that is my concern and that is what we want.

‘We cant do things the same way every day.we can’t continue to look backwards and not go forward.we have done that for years and Trinidad has become number six in the world.most murderous country.

‘I think this partnership with the US is not about regime change for us here in Trinidad and Tobago..it is about securing the safety and security,’ she added.

The opposition People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) has reaffirmed its ‘complete confidence’ in its leader, Aubrey Norton, despite the party’s devastating performance in the September 1 general and regional elections.

The PNCR, which headed the coalition, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) received 77,000 votes and 12 seats in the National Assembly, losing its status as the main opposition in the legislative chambers to the newly formed We Invest In Nationhood (WIN) political party that won 16 seats.

Aubrey Norton

The elections were won by the ruing People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) that won a second consecutive victory at the polls and now controls 36 of the 65 seats in the Parliament.

In a statement, the PNCR said that its Central Executive Committee (CEC) met on Wednesday for ‘its first full meeting’ since the elections ‘to review, among other matters, the Party’s strategic direction and immediate courses of action.

‘During the meeting, the CEC addressed a series of recent developments, including, but not limited to, the resignation of certain CEC members, and therefore confirmed the elevation of two new members to the CEC.’

The statement said that the ‘CEC reaffirmed its complete confidence in the leadership of Aubrey C. Norton and supports his continued role as the Leader of the PNCR during the rebuilding process’.

The statement said that the CEC emphasised ‘that its Leader can only be removed at a duly convened Party Congress, in accordance with the Party’s constitution.

‘In this connection, the CEC rejects any notion that there is trouble within the PNCR’s camp and assures the Party’s membership that public grievances by a few persons will not defeat the Party’s reactivation of political will and resilience.

‘The PNCR remains committed to strengthening its organisational structure, engaging in community outreach to strengthen its membership, in pursuit of its fearless aspiration for the growth of the Guyanese people,’ the statement added.