Category: CANA News

Sri Lanka reached 99 for two at lunch against the West Indies on the opening day of the second Test at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium here on Friday.

SRI LANKA 99-2 in 23 overs (Lahiru Udara 60 not out, Kamindu Mendis 30 not out; Shamar Joseph 2-31).

Lahiru Udara’s stunning maiden Test century and Kamindu Mendis’ supporting half century batted Sri Lanka into a commanding position against West Indies on the first day of the second Test here on Friday.

Playing in only his third Test match, Udara batted almost the entire day to score 188, while Mendis scored 84, with their efforts propeling the visitors to 338 for five in 83 overs after they chose to bat first at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium.

Needing a victory to level the two-match series following their innings and 217-run loss in the opener, Sri Lanka were rescued by Udara and Mendis after pacer Shamar Joseph struck two early blows.

With just 15 runs on the board, Nishan Madushka smashed a wide delivery from Joseph straight into the hands of Brandon King, who did well to hold on to a sharp catch at point.

The Windies were celebrating again soon after when Dinesh Chandimal flicked a fullish delivery from the same bowler to the same fielder, this time stationed at square leg, to make the score 25 for two.

However, Mendis joined Udara at crease and the two transformed the complexion of the match for the next three and a half hours during a 215-run stand, albeit with some luck.

The West Indies’ fast bowling quartet of Joseph, Alzarri Joseph, Jayden Seales and Anderson Phillip – playing in place of the injured Kemar Roach – were guilty of being inconsistent with their length and lines.

Udara was quick to pounce on anything loose and was especially unforgiving when given width outside the off stump or when the Windies’ bowlers dropped short.

Lahiru Udara scored his maiden Test century to put Sri Lanka in a strong position against the West Indies.

He motored along into the 40s and brought up his maiden half century off just 59 balls by clipping another full delivery from Joseph through the onside for four.

He should have been dismissed on 55 in the last over before lunch bowled by Seales, but neither Justin Greaves stationed at second slip nor John Campbell at first slip acted quickly enough to hold on to what should have been a regulation catch.

It proved to be a costly miss for the Windies, as the pair went to the break 99 for two.

The home side should also have had Mendis’ wicket when he was 41 and the score 139 for two, but they failed to appeal for a caught behind opportunity off the bowling of Alzarri Joseph, with Ultra Edge showing a spike as the ball past his bat through to wicketkeeper Shai Hope.

Mendis eventually brought up his half century off 74 balls by driving Seales through cover for three runs.

The Windies’ bowlers were especially slack in the period after lunch, allowing the two batters to score at over six runs an over.

Udara moved into the 90s by driving Seales over cover for six and his maiden century off 117 balls followed soon after, with his top edge off Seales flying over fine leg for another maximum.

They carried Sri Lanka to tea at 224 for two as the home side’s bowlers toiled without a wicket during the period.

It took a splendid piece of work behind the stumps by Hope to break the stand after the break, with Mendis being stumped by a delivery down the legside by medium pacer Justin Greaves, to see the score 240 for three.

He faced 120 balls and struck 11 fours in his 217-minute innings.

Udara then added 93 runs with captain Dhananjaya de Silva to solidify Sri Lanka’s position, until the Windies fought back by dismissing both in quick succession.

Alzarri Joseph was finally rewarded for peppering Udara with short balls, as his attempted hook only went as far as fine leg where Shamar Joseph took a good catch to dismiss him after he faced 248 balls and hit 21 fours and five sixes.

Without a run added, Seales had De Silva caught at first slip for 33 to bring up his 100th Test wicket and leave the score 333 for five.

In doing so, he became the second quickest and third youngest West Indian to reach the milestone in his 28th Test.

Kusal Mendis and Sonal Dinusha then navigated the final few overs to ensure that Sri Lanka ended the day in the ascendancy.

Sri Lanka elected to bat after winning the toss against West Indies on the opening day of the second Test at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium here on Friday.

West Indies have made two changes with Shai Hope and Anderson Phillip replacing Joshua Da Silva and Kemar Roach, while Sri Lankas had made three changes with Lahira Udara, Prabath Jayasuriya and Isitha Wijesundara coming in for Pathum Nissaka, Kasun Rajitha and Lahiru Kumara.

WEST INDIES: Roston Chase (captain), John Campbell, Brandon King, Kavem Hodge, Amir Jangoo, Shai Hope, Justin Greaves, Alzarri Joseph, Shamar Joseph, Anderson Phillip, Jayden Seales.

SRI LANKA: Dhananjaya de Silva (captain), Lahiru Udara, Nishan Madushka, Dinesh Chandimal, Kamindu Mendis, Kusal Mendis, Sonal Dinusha, Prabath Jayasuriya, Milan Rathnayake, Isitha Wijesundara, Asitha Fernando.

Umpires: Ahsan Raza, Paul Reiffel.

TV: Umpire: Sharfuddoulla.

Reserve Umpire: Deighton Butler.

Match Referee: Javagal Srinath.

The Constitution Reform Commission will engage the public in a series of consultations over the next six months with Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs Mohabir Anil Nandlall, SC, indicating that the process is of tremendous national importance.

‘I take this opportunity at this time to appeal to all persons, groups, communities, organisations and institutions to participate in this crucial, national process,’ Nandlall said, adding that the public’s input will directly influence the amendments that will be made to the Guyana Constitution. He said that a public notice will be issued outlining sections of the Constitution that are under review, ensuring citizens are fully informed ahead of the consultation process.

Nandlall said that while the entire Guyana Constitution will be reviewed, the process has been organised into several thematic areas, including the full protection of fundamental rights and freedoms of all Guyanese under law; the rights of indigenous people; the rights of children; the elimination of discrimination in all forms; and measures to ensure that the views of minorities in decision-making processes and in the conduct of government are given due consideration.

The government said that more areas to be covered include the implementation of reforms relating to elections and the elections commission, and measures to secure and protect economic, social and cultural rights of all Guyanese.

Nandlall said that these thematic areas are intended as a guide and that members of the public are free to make submissions on any other matter that may have been excluded but is in the constitution.

The government said all submissions must be clearly labelled written proposals on constitution reform, and must include full name, address, email and any other contact information.

Belize High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Cherie Nisbet, has reaffirmed the importance of strengthening commercial and institutional links with Britain as Belmopan seeks investment opportunities with Europe.

Finance Belize, in partnership with the Belize High Commission in London, convened the London Financial Services Seminar on Wednesday that brought together representatives of the United Kingdom’s financial services community, business networks, prospective investors, strategic partners and members of the Belizean diaspora. The seminar formed part of Finance Belize’s ongoing efforts to deepen international engagement, promote Belize’s evolving financial services sector and create new avenues for investment, cross-border services trade and institutional collaboration between Belize and the United Kingdom.

Nisbet in her welcome address highlighted the importance of strengthening commercial and institutional links between both countries, while Reynaldo Magaña, the chairman of Finance Belize, highlighted the organization’s role in positioning Belize as a modern, competitive and globally connected international financial services jurisdiction.

The programme featured an overview of Belize’s financial services landscape and priority investment areas, including wealth management, securities and capital markets, company formation, international banking, maritime registry services, corporate financial services, insurance, fintech and digital assets.

‘The United Kingdom remains one of the world’s leading international financial centers, making London an important platform for Belize to engage with investors, intermediaries, financial institutions and professional service providers with an interest in cross-border business, emerging markets and international financial services,’ Financial Belize said in a statement.

It said that the seminar was aimed at strengtthening bilateral and institutional relationships within the financial services sector; promote Belize’s investment value proposition and range of financial products and services; facilitate dialogue on regulatory developments, market trends and emerging opportunities and encourage strategic partnerships and cross-border business linkages between Belize and the UK.

Finance Belize described the one day event as a ‘a success’ without further elaborating.

The Barbados-based Caribbean Climate Outlook Forum (CariCOF) Thursday said that during the a portion of the three month Caribbean wet season, El Niño is strengthening and water around the Caribbean is steadily warming.

El Niño is a climate pattern where the surface water in the tropical Pacific Ocean becomes much warmer than usual. This warming changes the winds globally and disrupts normal weather patterns, causing extreme events like heavy rainfall, droughts, and heatwaves. In its latest Caribbean Climate Outlooks publication, CariCOF said that could imply increasingly intense humid heat into the peak of the heat season in September, culminating in recurrent heatwaves, especially in the far north as well as irregular bouts of Atlantic Hurricane Season activity through August, likely followed by somewhat muted peak season activity in September.

In addition, CariCOF says during the July to August period there will be slower than usual alleviation of lingering drought into September in the Lesser Antilles and slower than usual increase in rainfall frequency than in most years.

It warned that the expected occurrence of excessive rainfall events will lead ‘to high to extremely high potential for flooding, flash floods, cascading hazards and associated impacts.

‘Intrusions of dusty Saharan air will likely be frequent, inhibiting tropical cyclone activity, but exacerbating humid heat and deteriorating air quality,’ it added.

CariCOF said that up to the month of September, the potential for flooding, flash floods, related hazards and compound or cascading impacts due to excessive rains will be high to extremely high in most areas except the Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao (ABC) Islands.

It said water recharge rates in surface reservoirs and rivers will likely be slower than usual in Belize and the Antilles and that a slower than usual increase in wet days into August dampens the increase in rainfall disruptions of outdoor activities, only slowly builds up soil moisture and reduces wildfire potential, but also reduces the prevalence of moisture.

As of June 1 this year, severe or worse, short-term drought has developed in southwest Tobago and western Barbados with long-term drought being recorded in easternmost Cuba, Grenada, easternmost Guadeloupe, southwest Jamaica, Martinique, southwest Puerto Rico, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, and southeast Suriname.

CariCOF said that agricultural drought is evolving in St. Lucia and might possibly develop or continue in the ABC Islands, Eastern Cuba, Dominica, Grenada, the Leeward Islands, Martinique and Tobago.

Dominica’s Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit Thursday said he does not anticipate ‘any real issues’ regarding the controversy surrouding the reappointment of Belizean Dr. Carla Barnett as the Secretary General of the 15-member Caribbean Community (CARICOM) grouping.

‘The issue of the Secretary General, I don’t expect any real issues. I mean, the reality is every country has a right to express their view on who should be the Secretary General. The Secretary General post under the current arrangements with CARICOM does not require a unanimous decision,’ Skerrit told a news conference here.

Dr. Carla Barnett

Trinidad and Tobago’s Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, who has confirmed her attendance at the July 5-8 CARICOM in St Lucia, has said that Port of Spain will maintain its position and not recognise Barnett after the expiry of her current term in August.

She said Trinidad and Tobago has formally communicated its position to regional leaders arguing that the re-appointment did not comply with the requirements of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas.

But Skerrit told reporters that the re-election was ‘ a simple majority’ vote and that ‘we’re hoping that this does not cause any distraction from the crucial issues affecting the Caribbean people….

‘I don’t want to go back on details today. But we all know the issues affecting our citizens, every single citizen in the Caribbean, and I’m hoping that we can spend time discussing those issues and coming up with collective action that we can take to continue protecting our citizens from the cost of living challenge that we have been faced.

‘So these are issues that I believe we should preoccupy our minds with security of the region, et cetera, et cetera,’ said Skerrit, who also announced that he is to travel to neighbouring French island of Martinique to address the Joint Session of the Caribbean Regional Security Conference before travelling to Castries.

Skerrit told the news conference that his visit to Martinique is also to participate in the Conférence de Coopération Régionale Antilles-Guyane, where regional leaders will discuss disaster preparedness, climate resilience, transportation, security, health and sustainable development.

‘While there, I will also address the Joint Session of the Caribbean Regional Security Conference on the evolving security challenges facing our region, including border security, cybersecurity, disaster resilience, food and energy security, and the protection of our democratic institutions,’ he added.

Skerrit said that he would also travel to St. Lucia to attend the four-day Caribbean Community (CARICOM) summit where regional leaders ‘will consider several important regional priorities, including security, food production, climate resilience, renewable energy, regional transportation, economic integration, developments in Haiti and youth development and of the highest priority the cost of living which is affecting every CARICOM country’.

Skerrit said that Dominica, will during the four-day event ‘continue advocating practical regional solutions that strengthen resilience, deepen Caribbean integration and improve the lives of our people’

The World Bank has appointed the German-born Dr. Achim Fock, who most recently served as country manager for Zambia, as the new Division Director for the Caribbean.

‘In this role, Mr. Fock will lead the Bank’s strategic engagement and the operational portfolio across Caribbean countries, overseeing lending, analytical and advisory work and trust funds aimed at advancing sustainable and resilient development across the region,’ the World Bank said in a statement. It said that Fock brings more than 25 years of World Bank experience to this role, having most recently served as country manager for Zambia, where he held responsibility for portfolio management and client engagement.

Previously, he served as operations manager for Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand as well as Vietnam. He has also worked as Manager of the Development Effectiveness Unit for South Asia, and as a Senior Economist across multiple countries in Africa, East Asia, and Eastern Europe.

‘In his new capacity as Division Director for the Caribbean, Fock will be responsible for directing the World Bank’s programs across the Caribbean, strengthening partnerships with governments, civil society, and the private sector, and helping countries navigate the complex development challenges they face – including enabling jobs and growth in key economic sectors, supporting the energy transition and, strengthening 360° resilience through boosting disaster risk preparedness and financing, advancing resilience infrastructure and increasing economic resilience,’ the Washington-based financial institution said.

The Fifth Annual AfriCaribbean Trade and Investment Forum (ACTIF2026), which was originally scheduled to take place here later this month, has been postponed due to the Ebola outbreak in Africa.

The event was due to take place from July 29-31 and was being organised by the Egypt-based African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) and the St. Kitts and Nevis government. The event was intended to serve as the regional economic anchor and deep-water trade logistics hub connecting Africa and the Caribbean.

The multi-million-dollar initiative included several specific intended projects, namely the US$40 million deep-water port and 10-square-kilometre Special Economic Zone (SEZ) for Basseterre.

According to an official statement here, the decision to postpone the event was taken following the latest updates from regional, continental and international public health authorities regarding the evolving public health situation in some parts of Africa. No date has been given for when it could possible be held.

(Details in Business section)

Two hundred and fifty years ago, in the sweltering heat of a Philadelphia summer, a small group of men did something without precedent in modern history. They gathered, argued, deliberated, and then signed their names to a declaration that was a declaration of war against the mightiest empire on earth. They did so knowing that, if they failed, they would almost certainly hang.

We mark that moment today as citizens of nations that were themselves shaped, directly or indirectly, by the audacity of what was proclaimed in Philadelphia on 4 July 1776.

Words That Shook the World

The document they produced was remarkable in its language as much as in its courage. Its opening announced a philosophy of government that was revolutionary, challenging the authority of King George III and the British political establishment.

They declared:

‘When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.’

That single sentence challenged centuries of accepted thinking about the relationship between rulers and the ruled. Sovereignty, the patriots were saying, did not reside in the Crown. It resided in the people. A people who had endured what they described as ‘a long train of abuses and usurpations’ had not merely the right, but the duty, to throw off such government and establish new institutions for their future security.

Yet there was another remarkable feature of that opening sentence which resonates just as strongly today. The Declaration was not addressed solely to fellow colonists or even to the British Crown. It was consciously addressed to world opinion. The founders understood that their cause required legitimacy beyond their own shores. They sought, in their own words, ‘a decent respect to the opinions of mankind’. In many respects, this was the beginning of modern public diplomacy. The founders understood that military victory alone would not secure legitimacy. They also had to persuade the wider world that their cause was just, and they appreciated that, even in the eighteenth century, ideas could travel farther than armies.

The Declaration went on to specify the grievances that justified separation. Among them was the charge that the King had ‘endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose, obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither.’ It also accused him of combining with others to subject the colonies ‘to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws.’ These were grievances that many colonists genuinely believed they had suffered. They felt that fundamental rights to govern themselves, to make their own laws, and not to be taxed without representation had been systematically denied.

Then came the second paragraph. Perhaps no passage has had a greater influence on the development of modern constitutional government.

‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.’

Self-evident truths. Unalienable rights. The consent of the governed. Today, many nations regard these principles as fundamental to legitimate government, though they remain elusive under repressive regimes. In 1776, however, they were revolutionary. As Thomas Jefferson himself reflected fifty years later, the Declaration was ‘pregnant with our own and the fate of the world.’ History has vindicated that judgement.

A Beacon Beyond Borders

The Declaration was addressed not merely to the thirteen colonies, nor solely to the King of Great Britain, but, with ‘a decent respect’, to the opinions of mankind. Within months, translations had circulated across Europe, reaching France, the Netherlands, the German states, Scandinavia and beyond.

Its greatest influence, however, was felt among peoples living under colonial rule or foreign domination. Scores of the nations now represented at the United Nations possess founding documents that are declarations of independence. The American Declaration provided the model, much of the language and many of the principles for many of them.

Nowhere was this more dramatically demonstrated than in the Caribbean. Haiti, in January 1804, became the first Black republic and the first independent nation in the Western Hemisphere to abolish slavery. Its revolution drew inspiration from principles proclaimed in 1776, even though many leaders of the young United States recoiled from their full implications.

For the Caribbean as a whole, the ideals proclaimed in Philadelphia became a lasting source of inspiration. When our nations eventually raised their own flags and assumed sovereign statehood, they entered a tradition of self-determination whose roots reached, in part, to Philadelphia. The Declaration ultimately belonged not to America alone, but to all peoples seeking freedom.

The Men Who Made It

It is right that, on this anniversary, free peoples should honour the remarkable men who gathered in Philadelphia and, despite their rivalries and competing ambitions, found common cause in declaring the rights and freedoms of human beings. John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Roger Sherman and many others helped produce a document whose influence would far outlive them.

They disagreed, often profoundly, on the powers of government, the balance between state and national authority, and the future character of the Republic. Some owned enslaved people while proclaiming that all men were created equal, a contradiction so fundamental that it nearly destroyed the nation within a century and whose consequences remain evident today.

They were flawed men, with all the imperfections and contradictions of their age. Yet they produced ideas whose influence extended far beyond their own generation and the shores on which they lived.

Whatever their personal limitations, the ideals they proclaimed acquired a unique force that exceeded both their intentions and, at times, their own conduct.

The America Free Peoples Honour

It is that America – the America of the Declaration and of universal principle – that peoples who won their freedom have long admired and sought to emulate in their own journeys towards democracy.

We should also remember the America that helped rebuild Europe through the Marshall Plan, championed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and helped establish many of the institutions and alliances that underpinned the post-war international order.

It is that America whose 250th anniversary we celebrate today: an America born from the simple and powerful proposition that the rights of human beings are not granted by kings or governments, but are inherent, self-evident, and secured only by governments that enjoy the consent of the governed.

That idea was audacious in 1776. It remains so today. The world of states, large and small, is immeasurably better because those men dared to proclaim it.

Their greatest legacy is not simply the nation they founded, but the universal principle they affirmed: that liberty belongs to all humanity, and that governments derive their legitimacy from the consent of those they govern. Wherever tyranny yields to freedom, wherever peoples peacefully claim the right to determine their own future, the enduring light – first kindled in Philadelphia – continues to shine across oceans and generations.

* Sir Ronald Sanders is the Ambassador of Antigua and Barbuda to the United States of America and the Organisation of American States, and Chancellor of the University of Guyana. The view expressed are his own.