Category: CANA News

Tropical Storm Dolly formed in the central tropical Atlantic on Thursday morning and could bring heavy rainfall to parts of the Caribbean this weekend.

Dolly – the fourth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, is moving toward the west near 24 mph (39 km/h), and this motion is expected to continue for the next couple of days.

The Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) has launched a Caribbean Resilient Recovery Facility (CRRF) Recovery Experts Roster, a regional pool of technical professionals designed to strengthen the capacity of Participating States to manage and implement post-disaster recovery.

The first orientation, conducted on Wednesday , welcomed 14 experts and forms part of the operationalisation of the Caribbean Resilient Recovery Facility (CRRF), a multi-stakeholder initiative spearheaded by CDEMA and its development partners to bridge the gap between response and early recovery and accelerate post-disaster recovery.

The Recovery Experts Roster also seeks to provide surge support to countries following disasters in areas of expertise including engineering, education, social work, psychology, business development, information technology and healthcare.

In his opening remarks, CDEMA’s Deputy Executive Director Lt. Col. Kester Craig emphasised the importance of regional cooperation in strengthening recovery capacity.

‘No single country in our region has all the resources needed to respond to and effectively recover from major disaster impacts,’ said Lt. Col. Craig.

He added that the roster will enable CDEMA to match the right expertise to the specific recovery needs of affected countries, ensuring that recovery efforts are coordinated, inclusive and responsive.

The orientation was facilitated by CDEMA’s Disaster Recovery Specialist, Jason Francis and CRRF Research Intern Natalia Extavour, who familiarised the experts with the CRRF operational framework, their roles and responsibilities, and CDEMA’s deployment protocols and standards for humanitarian support.

Francis described the first cohort as an important step in building the regional recovery facility and thanked the experts for their commitment to regional resilience.

‘This is the first cohort of experts to join the roster, and we look forward to utilising your skills and expertise as we continue to build out the regional recovery facility,’ he said.

The establishment of the Recovery Experts Roster reinforces CDEMA’s commitment to pooling regional resources, strengthening national recovery capacity and advancing resilient recovery across the Caribbean.

The following is the CANANews and SPORTS Schedule for Thursday August 27, 2026.

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, Aug. 27, CMC – The Dominican Republic is set to become the 48th country in the world and the seventh in Latin America to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism after President Luis Abinader ordered the country’s foreign ministry to formalize the decision.

KINGSTON – Nearly a dozen high-ranking police officers and soldiers are being investigated as part of a widening narcotics probe stemming from the discovery of cocaine at a police storage facility in January.

PORT OF SPAIN – A multi-million-dollar underground economy is thriving within Trinidad and Tobago’s prison system, according to Prison Officers’ Association General Secretary Lester Logie.

GEORGETOWN – Guyana will introduce an appointment-based system for passport services from October 1, with passport offices no longer accepting walk-in applications.

SPORTS

KINGSTON- The Jamaica Cricket Association’s (JCA) annual general meeting (AGM) will now most likely to be held in October, its president Dr Donovan Bennett has revealed.

The Dominican Republic is set to become the 48th country in the world and the seventh in Latin America to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism after President Luis Abinader ordered the country’s foreign ministry to formalize the decision.

President Luis Abinader

The move came as Ambassador Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun, the U.S. special envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism, urged other Latin American governments to follow the Dominican Republic’s lead, pointing to the Trump administration’s efforts at home as a framework for confronting antisemitism internationally.

Abinader made the announcement Monday at the Combat Antisemitism Movement-sponsored annual Latin American Forum Against Antisemitism held here.

According to an English translation of the president’s remarks, Abinader said antisemitism should not be viewed as a threat affecting only Jewish communities. ‘Antisemitism is not a problem that concerns only the Jewish people,’ he said. ‘It is a threat to democratic coexistence and to the rights and freedoms of us all.’

The announcement comes amid heightened concern over antisemitism worldwide. The Combat Antisemitism Movement’s Antisemitism Research Center monitored and reported 767 antisemitic incidents globally in March 2026, an average of nearly 25 incidents per day and a 32.5% increase compared with March 2025.

Kaploun praised the Dominican Republic’s decision at the conference as a ‘historic moment’ and called on other governments across the region to follow its lead.

‘What you have witnessed tonight is a government standing up for what is right,’ he said.

‘There cannot be any compromise with antisemitism,’ he continued. ‘We will lead by example, and we will take positive steps to protect every Jewish community.’

Kaploun pointed to the Trump administration’s efforts in the United States as a framework other governments could use to confront antisemitism within their own institutions.

The St Kitts and Nevis Patriots elected to field after winning the toss against the Jamaica Kingsmen in the 18th match of the Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League at Warner Park here on Thursday.

SQUADS

ST KITTS and NEVIS PATRIOTS: Jason Holder (captain), Johnson Charles, Kyle Mayers, Andre Fletcher, Kevin Wickham, Mikyle Louis, Dasun Shanaka, Wanindu Hasaranga, Naseem Shah, Obed McCoy, Waqar Salamkheil.

JAMAICA KINGSMEN: Rovman Powell (captain), Maaz Sadaqat, Kirk McKenzie, Saim Ayub, Keacy Carty, Usman Khan, Keemo Paul, Odean Smith, Vitel Lawes, Jediah Blades, Hunain Shah.

Nearly a dozen high-ranking police officers and soldiers are being investigated as part of a widening narcotics probe stemming from the discovery of cocaine at a police storage facility in January.

The investigation is examining whether law-enforcement personnel significantly under-reported the quantity of cocaine seized during an earlier operation in western Jamaica.

The case came to light in January when two ‘illegal’ parcels of cocaine were discovered inside a storage facility at the now-disbanded Counter Terrorism and Organised Crime Division (C-TOC). The Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) disclosed the discovery following an internal audit.

The incident prompted an immediate high-level investigation. Weeks later, Police Commissioner Dr Kevin Blake dismantled C-TOC, transferring more than 40 police officers assigned to the division to other units.

The investigation became public on Wednesday when agents from the Major Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Agency (MOCA) conducted an early-morning search at the Corporate Area home of a senior officer who had been assigned to C-TOC.

The officer was subsequently taken in handcuffs to two other locations in St Andrew and Clarendon, where additional searches were carried out.

Search operations were expected to continue overnight and into today at locations linked to other individuals under investigation.

The probe has also attracted the attention of Jamaica’s international law-enforcement partners.

MOCA confirmed late Wednesday that its agents were conducting a series of operations to execute ‘search and seizure warrants at a number of locations across the Corporate Area as part of an ongoing investigation’.

However, Major Basil Jarrett, MOCA’s director of communications, is yet to provide details about the investigation or the operations.

The government says it will intensify the trucking of water to communities across the island as drought conditions continue to place severe pressure on the country’s water supplies.

Water Minister Matthew Samuda said the prolonged lack of rainfall is affecting the country’s primary water sources, making water conservation increasingly critical.

He noted that rainfall over the past three months has been below average during a period when precipitation would normally help recharge aquifers, replenish wells and rivers, and restore water storage facilities.

The situation is particularly concerning ahead of the reopening of schools, when water demand from households and institutions is expected to increase.

The government has already spent approximately J$86 million on emergency water trucking through Members of Parliament to assist communities experiencing water shortages.

However, with drought conditions expected to worsen, Samuda said the cost of the emergency response could increase substantially, potentially reaching J$500 million.

Municipal authorities will be provided with additional resources to assist communities that are outside utility service areas, while the National Water Commission will receive further support to prioritise critical infrastructure.

Samuda said requests for water deliveries must be made in advance, noting that priority will be given to hospitals, health centres, schools and places of safety, followed by vulnerable members of the population.

Meanwhile, more than 400 farmers have benefited from water supplied by the National Irrigation Commission (NIC) since the start of the ongoing drought.

Agriculture Minister Floyd Green provided the update while speaking at the official opening of the Farm Road Project in the southern parish of St Elizabeth, on Wednesday.

St Elizabeth – the island’s ‘bread basket’ is among seven parishes currently under water prohibition orders as authorities seek to manage dwindling water resources.

The government recently announced an additional J$60 million for drought mitigation measures aimed at assisting farmers. This is in addition to the J$149 million previously allocated to support the agricultural sector.

Green also outlined a number of measures being implemented to help farmers cope with the continuing drought as the government seeks to protect agricultural production and safeguard livelihoods.

The authorities have urged Jamaicans to conserve water as the country braces for the possibility of further deterioration in drought conditions.

Saint Lucia’s Julien Alfred exacted revenge on Melissa Jefferson-Wooden of the USA by storming to victory in record time at the Zurich Diamond League here on Thursday.

Alfred raced across the finish line in a career-best time of 10.70 seconds, setting a new national record in the process at the Letzigrund Stadium. Jefferson-Wooden, who handed Alfred her first defeat of the season at the Silesia Diamond League meet on Sunday, was given the same time but had to settle for silver this time around.

Alfred got off to a much better start on this occasion and fired down the track in front of a capacity 25,000-strong crowd to edge Jefferson-Wooden by just five-thousandths of a second with a savage dip at the line.

For the second straight race American Sha’Carri Richardson rounded out the podium in a time of 10.97, just ahead of Jamaica’s Tina Clayton (10.98), while newly crowned European champion Amy Hunt was fifth in 11.04.

The Government of St. Lucia has guaranteed a US$20 million (EC$54 million) financing facility between the St. Lucia Development Bank (SLDB) and Taiwan Eximbank, in what Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre has described as the largest investment in housing in the country’s history.

The agreement was formalised earlier this week during a signing ceremony at the headquarters of the SLDB here.

‘This investment of EC$54 million is the largest investment in housing in the history of this country,’ Pierre told the ceremony, drawing applause from those in attendance.

‘And for the first time, the government is guaranteeing, for a bank, a substantial investment, with the support of a foreign financial institution, which is the EXIM Bank of Taiwan,’ he added.

The financing facility is expected to expand affordable housing opportunities for low- and middle-income households while improving access to long-term mortgage financing at appropriate rates.

Particular attention will be given to first-time homebuyers and groups that have traditionally faced difficulties obtaining financing through conventional lending institutions.

Pierre said the initiative was designed to address the country’s significant housing shortage, particularly the lack of affordable options for families unable to meet the requirements of traditional financial institutions.

‘There is a housing deficit in this country, and that is an understatement,’ Pierre said.

He stressed the importance of distinguishing between affordable housing and low-cost housing, explaining that the programme is intended to provide opportunities for people who may not have the income or financial resources required by conventional lenders but are willing and able to meet their loan obligations.

‘Affordable housing means that people in the population who do not have the wherewithal or do not have the income to deal with traditional financial institutions have the ability to borrow,’ Pierre said, adding that borrowers must demonstrate the will, discipline and commitment to repay their loans.

The agreement forms part of a broader government strategy to increase housing opportunities across the island.

The government is also pursuing a land rationalisation programme involving the Ministry of Housing and the Ministry of Physical Development to make government-owned lands available for residential development.

Other initiatives include the National Site and Service Programme, which provides serviced lots at affordable prices, and the National Housing Assistance Programme, which addresses basic housing deficiencies among low-income and indigent households.

In addition, Invest St. Lucia has partnered with a regional real estate developer on a 10-acre housing development in Canaries and is holding discussions on a similar condominium-style project in another area.

Housing has remained a major area of focus for the SLDB over the past year. In 2025, the bank approved approximately EC$11.5 million in concessionary housing financing as part of efforts to expand home ownership and support home improvements among lower- and middle-income households.

Bank officials said housing continues to be one of the most significant areas of the SLDB’s intervention and will remain central to its agenda.

The new US$20 million credit line from Taiwan Eximbank is expected to significantly increase the country’s capacity to finance housing and help address continuing supply shortages.

Tuesday’s ceremony formally sealed the financing agreement among the Government of St. Lucia, the SLDB and Taiwan Eximbank.

Labour Minister Pearnel Charles Jr. says the recent changes in the immigration policies of the United States, could create more opportunities for Jamaican workers under the government’s overseas employment programme.

Charles says for 2026, the number of participants in its farm work programme increased marginally when compared with the over 15,000 in 2025.

Changes to US immigration policies feature a mix of stricter screening measures, scheduling delays and an increase in total available non-agricultural visas, which have stalled the processing of visas, thereby affecting Jamaicans seeking permanent residence in the United States.

But Charles who was speaking with the Jamaica information Service (JIS), said the legal and longstanding framework of the programme allows for Jamaicans to continue to benefit from overseas earnings on the government programme.

‘My assessment of the policies so far have not impeded or negatively impacted any lawful arrangements. And our Overseas Employment Programme is a lawful arrangement between Jamaica and the US where we have said, as a matter of fact, we have sent a permanent secretary overseas to advance the high level discussions with the US and to stay there, to be fixed there because we have identified the potential opportunities. And we see where those persons that are being removed, Jamaicans are ready to fill those positions, and to do so within the parameters of the law,’ he asserted.